Itachi the Cat
by JeffC FTW
Summary: When ancient magic turns Itachi into a cat, his fiancée Hanaru, brother Sasuke and the rest of the gang race to turn him back - but not before encountering fun and trouble on their heels.
1. Girl Meets Boy

**I was inspired by the marvelous "Curse of the Cat" by Hitoko-sama as well as a beloved family film I've loved since I was a child, "My Brother the Pig", to bring this to life. :D It's a heartwarming tale for the whole family - and what I intend to do with this.**

 **To keep the summary short: Itachi Uchiha has it all - a beautiful, loving fiancée, and he's gonna one day take over the family company. Though complications arise between him and Hanaru as well as Sasuke and the others - though his relationship with his little brother has long since been strained for years - and one day life becomes crazier when he is magically transformed into a cat (like Hitoko-sama's fic, albeit reversed). Now Hanaru, her little brother Naruto and his girlfriend Hinata, and Sasuke and his new wife Sakura all race to turn Itachi back into a human. Just when things don't get any worse as they face hilarity and danger on the way...**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters all belong to the respectable Kishimoto. As for Hanaru, I say she's my OC, but the truth is that she belongs to my lovable boyfriend who loves me using her every now and then, and is SUPER involved. :D**

Chapter One

Girl Meets Boy

Goddamn it all!

Her heart burst and then dropped into her stomach when none other than the Blue Screen of Death itself appeared on her precious PC. She had just finished her latest piece for creative writing class and had saved to flashdrive in perfect timing when the screen itself flashed to the terror itself, making her scream and tug her hair.

"Just my luck," she spat, tempted to smash the keyboard but knew it would make matters worse. Her precious baby brother had warned her this thing was so old it could die any day. And it had been eight years since Grandpa Jiraiya and Grandma Tsunade got it for her as a middle school graduation present. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes.

 _How can my baby go on me like this? I'm not in the mood of restarting again._ Which left one option left. Looking at the clock, it was only five, and the place she had in mind wouldn't close until seven. She stood up and walked about her nicely furnished but still sparsely filled apartment to grab her mobile which was beside the lamp, having the tech company number in case something like this ever happened, and it was a damned good thing she did. "Thank you, Naruto, for that suggestion," she said aloud to no one in particular as she hit the number and impatiently went through the answering machine of hitting number three for tech support, her nerves on the frizz because she was so nervous...

 _"Uchiha Tech and Co. - how may I help you?"_

Swallowing, she responded without a stutter. "Yes, my PC has suffered the blue screen, and if there is a way to send someone out here to take a look at it..." She fidgeted her knee-length light pink nightshirt as a mild way to calm herself down, but it did so little.

The man on the other end sounded cheerful and professional at the same time. _"Of course, miss, we will send someone out to you as soon as possible."_

Hanaru Uzumaki could not have been more relieved. She just wanted her baby back with her so she could continue her life. In the meantime, she might as well stick to heading to the library at the college or asking her brother if she could get on his to type up her future work. She also had her new book to think about.

It was Tuesday, and her papers weren't due until Friday. Good thing she had classes for today, tomorrow and Friday. She'd asked the guy to come out here on Thursday between eleven and two. The sooner, the better. Relieved, she decided to get herself some food, deciding the leftover steak, chicken and rice from the down-the-street steakhouse was settling.

Finally, Thursday arrived, and she was done with the waiting. Three days was bad enough without her baby. At school could only do so much as was the library where she would have plenty of time, but it was always limited. Naruto was the big help that he was, but even he was still only a freshman and constantly with his girlfriend and high school sweetheart that he still didn't get on the level his big sister did. You'd ask yourself sometimes how Naruto Uzumaki is still the hyperactive goofball he is and still makes it to the top.

Take a look at the storage trunk serving as a coffee table between the soft tan leather sofa and loveseat itself, then onward to fine oak tables that looked like they were made by nature instead of hand. Each lamp was made of artificial bamboo. She just loved natural and organic, believed it from the heart that it was more magical than in-your-face diamonds.

Hanaru tied her red-streaked blonde hair into a high ponytail before picking up the perfume bottle and spraying her neck. The smell of white flowers, creamy vanilla and musk made her feel sophisticated. Finally, she slipped on her jewelry, which was a pair of dragonfly earrings; here in Japan, the beautiful winged insect represented good fortune and protection. Hanaru's necklace was a beautiful medallion sparkling with tiny diamonds, resting over her heart. Her watch was a thin black leather band with the frame around the face etched with small blue crystals. The ring around her right third finger had a blue sapphire with a diamond on either side.

She hoped she looked good, but what the hell was she trying to do? It wasn't like she was interested in a dating service! She snorted when she looked over herself in her blue-and-white striped cardigan over her studded gray tee and faded jeans. _No guys - all guys are the same: they are interested in one thing and not commitment._

Hanaru Uzumaki had tried dating in high school, but all her potential loves of her life were nothing but hormones that she managed to get out of quickly because she intended a serious relationship; her beaus were the opposite, and when she graduated, she pushed all thoughts of guys aside and focused on her career which included writing and art. She had a great passion for fantasy in various forms: she loved art in every sense, every mythology and literature she'd grasped her hands on. Of course, she did consider getting a job someplace as backup, but she hadn't been successful in that department either. She was always picky and choosy about everything that came her way.

 _And here I am in my final year in college, without an idea, still. If I don't choose, then I'm unemployed and forced to move back in with Grandma and Grandpa just like my brother currently lives with them - or maybe go with Naruto and Hinata together when they get their own place._

Her younger brother by three years, Naruto, had such high ambitions to one day become a "badass lawyer", since their parents had been, but she was always wary of that because one of their perps ordered their deaths, orphaning her and her brother, raised by their grandparents. So, yeah, that was her if she didn't find a good job to sustain herself. It was that, or be forced to marry a guy who could take care of her. She hated to rely on some man for that...

The doorbell rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She blew a sigh of relief. Finally, get this over and done with. She put on her clear raspberry gloss on for a shine and flavor before pinching her cheeks for color and making way out of her bedroom, picking up her closed laptop and making way to open the door. "Thank you for coming," she said, not making direct eye contact with the guy, but taking in the clothes he wore and the body build, making herself flushed a bit.

The man was in a white dress shirt tucked into very dark jeans, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She was surprised to take in the fact that his nails were painted _black._ His body was lean and lightly muscled. Around one shoulder was a black leather bag. Hanaru glimpsed his name pinned to the left of his shirt: **Itachi U.** Her eyes widened a little. _He must be an Uchiha..._

"Ahem, Uzumaki-san? Are you going to invite me in then?" a rich, velvety voice inquired smoothly, making her snap her eyes to his face, and she gasped, stumbling back by one.

 _Kami, am I...in...heaven...?_

Just how could she describe the extremely _handsome_ face she looked upon and found herself enraptured within twin pools of lustrous onyx, drowning her like a black hole in space. Beneath those eyes were two downward curving lines; she wasn't sure if they were real scars or if it was natural. His nose was perfect, and his lips...oh, man, what was she thinking? As for his hair, it was long and probably reaching the middle of his back, dark as his eyes and shining like a raven's wing, tied back in a low ponytail.

She realized he'd stepped inside, standing too close to her, and she realized what a damned idiot she was for staring. "Oh, God! I'm sorry," she stuttered, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Yes, please come in." She stepped aside and closed the door behind him. She watched as he took a look at her abode without a change of expression. He was impassive, hard to read, and so smooth yet casual. "Thanks for coming."

"Hn." He stopped gazing at his surroundings and turned his attention back to her. He didn't smile, but his eyes were shining. "Itachi Uchiha is my name."

"Oh, yes...so that means...?" Damn it, she sounded like an idiot. _And what the hell am I getting all flushed up for? He's here to take a look at my baby and see if it can be fixed, that's all!_

"Indeed, my family runs the company you called." This was when he did smile, and it was slight, penetrating that icily sculpted face of his, deepening the flush in her flesh. "Now, about your little situation..." His voice made her nerves vibrate, but she ignored it and held out her "baby" as the answer. "Hmm, I see. Wouldn't mind if I take a look at it?" Itachi asked smoothly, reaching out with both hands, and that was when she noticed the ring glittering on the third finger of his right hand.

 _Gods, that looks like something from medieval times. Like, a man winning a lady's heart by joining the battle._ The stone was a smooth, deep wine red, set in antique steel fashioned like the cross of those times. It was so perfect being on the hand that opened up the computer and began to examine the issue. Black-tipped fingers, delicate as a piano player's, flew over the board with careful precision. Hanaru was in awe as she watched him, sitting down and feeling like a specter, on the other side of the sofa, watching him more than she watched him work.

Her heart was beating rapidly. She hadn't felt like this since high school, so why were the gods playing with her like this? Sending an uber sexy man from the vast tech company of Konoha, run by one of the oldest living families, on her way to take a look at her fate?

Just sitting next to him also enflamed her senses when she _smelled_ him, his aftershave, cologne or whatever, and it seemed damned expensive, but she'd been wrong before - she whiffed something like leather, sandalwood and green tea. It was powerful... _stimulating..._

"Well, Uzumaki-san -" His voice cleared her to reality. His intense gaze was still glued to the screen. "- it appears that I'm going to have to take this with me overnight so I can give it a new driver. I'm afraid that I won't return it until Saturday morning."

She swallowed and looked at him with horror. "N-n-new dr-driver?" she stuttered, slapping a hand over her mouth in dismay at herself. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, eyes glittering with bemusement.

"Of course. Now, may I ask how long you have had this piece of work?"

Was she imagining things, or was he mocking her now? Oh, he was hot stuff, but he was so hot-headed; she would give him that. "Almost ten years. My grandparents got it for me as a middle school grad present," she answered passionately. "Everything I love is on there, and I take care of it constantly." He chuckled.

"Passionate, are we? Do you feel like you can...confide in me as to what you do?" Itachi asked lightly, the words rolling off his tongue like dark chocolate.

"I'm a college student, taking literature and creative writing. I'm also working on my first novel," Hanaru answered proudly, drawing a smile to one corner and another "hn". _These Uchiha must not be very good at conversation - much less casual._ Her nerves were on fire and not in a good way. But how could she speak to him like this when she asked for his help?

"Rest assured, then, I'll make sure to store your precious work - unless you have backup drives," Itachi stated the obvious. "Not that I would call you a fool or anything."

Hanaru lifted her chin. "I did save it all - but the blue screen hits me out of the blue."

"As it does to anyone." He cleared his throat and closed the laptop before standing and stretching himself. The groans he made almost made her do the same. He then bent forward to pick up her precious cargo and wrapped the attached battery cord with great skill before tucking it under his arm. A part of her wanted to grab his arm and see how strong his muscles were -

"Uchiha-san?" He paused at the door to her apartment and raised an eyebrow. "Will I see you again when you...fix the problem?" she asked shyly.

He stared at her for a moment before snorting. "Who else would I entrust your fate with? I assure you, it's safe in my own capable hands," he purred, leaning in close to her face, his hot, sweet breath washing over her senses, and just like that - but not before leaving his business card, price saved for when he returned - he was gone, and Hanaru Uzumaki was left flushed to the face and in a daze.

One, she was happy her baby would come back safe and sound.

Two, the man sent out to her would save her life.

And three, said man was _uber sexy...like a GOD._

~o~

Closing time at seven, and he was more than relieved. He was ready to head down to the barbeque place to pick up his and Sakura's usual when dearest big brother walked back in through the doors of their department store. Konoha wasn't a small town, but it wasn't as great as Tokyo either. They were one of the few in the nation to survive any hardships to be thrown in their direction. Ever since its founding, Uchiha Tech and Co. which their father's great-grandfather established was the first topmost and reliable in evolving technological standards, everything from support to competition - small as it is nowadays, given economic crisis today.

Itachi would one day take over, but right now their uncle Madara was in charge. You know how it was with old traditions, and traditional value remained today within the Uchiha. Both Sasuke and Uncle Izuna were second and therefore lower. Izuna was manager here, marking Itachi as assistant - and the pride and prodigy - which left Sasuke Uchiha the lowly one behind the counter, amongst the rest of the staff. All his life of trying to prove himself in his family's eyes, namely his brother's. If their father were alive today, he'd say "That's my boy" to none other than his precious firstborn _Itachi._

It had been ten years since Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha were killed - and by killed, the word was _murdered_. By a corrupt government official, when Fugaku himself had been called in when the staff was shorthanded to repair the man's office computer...and to keep it short, he'd accidentally come across something he shouldn't have. As a result to keep quiet, he and his wife were offed. The demon's hired hand would have gotten his hands on both their sons if Itachi had not been the brave elder to get a hold of the police right away, because Madara had a friend within the force, and it wasn't long before the suspect was caught and testified.

He had been hired, according to the court testimony, and the official who paid him was also brought in as a suspect, but due to the lack of evidence, the man was let go...but the brave lawyer who testified with him as well as his wife who was also in the firm were shot and killed soon after.

 _The son of those two happened to be my best friend. The first person I ever began to trust since Mother and Father were..._

" _Aniki,_ is that in need of a repair?" he asked when Itachi passed by his counter after the last customer purchased a new version of malware protection. The elder Uchiha stopped and regarded him with the PC wrapped with its charging cord underneath his arm.

"Hn, to put it bluntly, the Blue Screen of Death, according to the client herself," Itachi answered, and ended it there to head for his small office. Sasuke glared at him after closing the door, shaking his head.

 _Big brother, you're never going to forgive me, are you?_

If you were wondering, this had nothing to do with the deaths of their parents - that had all been Sasuke's part as he'd closed himself off from Itachi altogether and their uncles who raised them after. Sasuke was only eight at the time; what could you expect of a child who grew up happy and looking up to his big brother, fighting to be recognized by his father one day, washed with love by his mother and spoiled by both his uncles on his father's side? Itachi was the strong one for him, but the younger was wrapped up in his own pain that he didn't know how to deal with his kind, gentle and understanding older brother anymore. His childhood had been taken away from him.

Itachi had known all along and had to express his emotions by the time Sasuke was thirteen and just hitting puberty, when he decided that his pain had to be completely kept in to himself. "You honestly thought you were the only one to lose your innocence, Sasuke?!" he'd exclaimed in dismay, before contorting to anger. "I was traumatized as much as you were, _otouto!_ They were MY parents, too!"

High school got worse, but don't ask the now-adult Sasuke for the details. But know this in short by the time it was over: his and Itachi's relationship was never the same again when Sasuke chose to marry his first love fresh out of graduating.

Sakura Haruno was the first in her family to ever be accepted into medical school on a scholarship, but sometimes Sasuke wondered if he was worthy to marry her, especially so quickly. But she accepted him for who he was and not for who she wanted him to be, so that was the main reason he decided why wait.

Getting on his motorcycle, Sasuke found himself at the Akimichi BBQ and Grill, having been run by Choji's family for the longest time. Pretty much many businesses in Konoha were family-oriented, and very few of the young generations ever made it out of here. And few like himself and Naruto would truly leave, because this was the home they loved so much. Choji and his father yelled out boisterously to him when he arrived through the front doors in his signature black leather coat, white t-shirt and faded jeans. He was one of their favorite customers, and Naruto when the dobe wasn't obsessively at Ichiraku's next door.

Choza Akimichi bellowed at his favorite Uchiha, making the raven head smirk to one side of his mouth. "Say, Sasuke, the usual for you and the wife?" Before he could answer, the man interrupted him with a wave and more laughter. "No need to answer."

"Thanks, sir," Sasuke answered as he reached into his pockets to fish out his wallet, and when he did and opened it, the first sight he was greeted with was none other than his and Sakura's wedding picture.

He didn't pay attention to her the first time her father brought her to her new husband that day on the local beach beneath a sunset, surrounded by their friends and their family, small and intimate, but she'd worn her mother's dress which accentuated her beautifully. He took in how those lovely parts of her were flaunted: the scalloped lace ended at the knees and were shoved off the shoulders, the sleeves long and fitted to her wrists. Beautiful crystals dangled from her ears in a fan-shape. It hadn't taken much convincing to ask her parents' permission, but for his side, only one person objected and had chosen not to show up on the best day of his life.

 _Nothing other than giving me Mother and Father's wedding rings, before not showing up to even be my best man. Naruto was the one, but Itachi my dear brother..._

Sasuke found himself looking down at the snug rose-gold band around his finger; Sakura's was matching, and luck had been on their side when Mikoto's ring hugged her delicate finger as it was supposed to. _And you may kiss the bride..._ The one to perform the service was none other than Uncle Izuna, who had somehow favored him even though Madara loved both his nephews. Madara had been, at first, wary of his youngest nephew tying the knot fresh of turning eighteen soon, but Sasuke was a man now. And it wasn't like he was special like Itachi to face the pressures of taking over family business.

Sasuke paid for the food when it was done and bade the Akimichi men good night before heading home to his wife who had just gotten off her shift at the emergency room and had tons of schoolwork to finish. That was more pressure to deal with than him. Sometimes Sasuke wondered why he didn't find anything in life that satisfied him, but it wasn't like anything else in particular interested him. He could let it go and let what happened happen, as long as he placed his own foot down.

He reached the apartment he shared with Sakura in no time. It was on the campus of the medical school and Konoha General Hospital. His motorcycle was his life whereas she owned her precious Porsche; someday when they began a family, it meant trading their youthful lives for something bigger and family-oriented. Sasuke would never dream of asking his uncles or even Ice Prince himself for help; he worked his own ass off enough. He yelled to his wife that he was home, and the smell of barbeque got her attention.

Sakura had been lounging on the couch with her medical books and laptop in the mix, dressed in a pink hoodie that reached mid-thigh. He found that sexier than any designer lingerie she would have tried to please him with in high school days. It had been barely a year since they got married, and life was good to them. She beamed and stood to run over and kiss him before helping him take the bags into the small kitchen.

"Hard day again?" She used to press him and try to please him out of all the fangirls he would get hounding him, but she gave up when she was paired with him one day along with Naruto for a class project, and from then on, they hit it off.

"Hn."

She sighed. "Let me guess." She shook her head, knowing him well enough. "When is your brother ever going to stop giving you the cold shoulder over this? He was supposed to be there for you." She kissed his cheek, and he wished he could return it with the same rigorous affection she lavished on him.

 _I wish so, too...but he's such a bastard. A part of me blames myself for pushing him away after our parents' deaths._

"I'm glad I was an only child, so I didn't have to deal with sibling drama."

Sasuke gave her a wry smirk. "And that's why I envy you." Now he had it in himself to kiss her back on the lips she puckered out for him.

~o~

He took work home with him often, in the privacy of his apartment that he was given as a gift from Uncle Madara, but after the first rental, he chose to take care of it on his own because he was a responsible man, not a lazy bum who let others do everything for them. The client's issue was none other than the "Blue Screen of Death", per quote, making him chuckle and begin using it habitually when _otouto_ asked as soon as he walked back in through their doors just before closing time.

In the norm, Itachi Uchiha was irritated at being called at the last minute when he was ready to go home, but this case was special, it seemed, when he learned the name of the woman. _Hanaru Uzumaki..._

 _Could she be related to the late Minato and Kushina Uzumaki - and Naruto - somehow?_

He remembered the mentioned couple besides their son who happened to be Sasuke's best friend since childhood; they were the only ones ferociously brave enough to stand up to one of the most influential but nefarious men in the system - at the costs of their own lives. The man had been let go without solid proof over the hired murder of his parents, and the impact on his little brother left Sasuke a shell of who he was.

Itachi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing the device before him that he promised its owner would be returned to her by Saturday morning, given tomorrow would be too busy for him to make the time for her. He was the one to take personal requests.

Why could Sasuke never understand the losses of Fugaku and Mikoto were also his?

And what was worse: his little brother _had_ to cause trouble in high school before going ahead and getting married soon after graduating.

He did want to admit that Sakura Haruno pulled his brother out of that dark pit, but to go and rush into marriage like that? Being the elder, he confessed that it was too immature to get back at him like that, but he also wanted Sasuke happy. _And yet, why did I have to bail on him when he needed me the most, coming up with a last-minute meeting with a client instead of being his best man...?_ He wanted to say that just being present was spoiling Sasuke's joy - when he knew, deep down, it hurt his brother worse.

 _"I married the girl I love, the first I ever opened up to - but look at you still lonely and successful. No wonder you're the pride."_

Those words hurt Itachi's heart more than the teenage rebellion.

They loved both nephews, but uncles Madara and Izuna sometimes wondered if they should have gotten Sasuke the therapy he needed when he became a teenager and things had gotten worse, but Itachi had to step in and say that it would further shatter any trust that remained. But now he had to second-guess those times and wondered if it was too late...

 _No, Sasuke's done better now...but I wish I could say the same for our relationship. Is it ever going to repair...?_

He stopped his thoughts there and focused on a drink and a good night's rest for tomorrow. Of all the things to look forward to after that, it was that he would return this to the woman and nothing more. But he wouldn't deny that Uzumaki-san had a...spark of life that he hadn't seen in a long time.

But when Itachi closed his eyes that night, a pair of bright blue eyes filled with passion penetrated his usually dreary and forgettable night.

 **To clear up differences with "Curse of the Cat", there is no incest, homosexuality, or even Kyuubi in here. But as for how Itachi will become a cat will be a complete surprise and in different circumstances. :) This is gonna be FUN. But for now, we focus on him and Hanaru meeting and falling in love - and later on complications.**

 **Who HASN'T called Itachi an "Ice Prince" outside me and Hitoko-sama? XD He does give off that vibe.**


	2. First Moves

**I noticed no one is reviewing. :( I'm not an author who pressures for reviews, but they mean so much - and in lots o detail. :D**

Chapter Two

First Moves

Naruto Uzumaki had only been eight years old and his big sister Hanaru eleven when their parents were murdered right after a couple who were once in charge of one of the oldest-running tech companies in Japan. One of the big guys of the board had been suspected, but no solid proof could be found, and the perp caught had claimed to be hired - and again, no proof there. His parents, Sasuke's parents...

 _No one is going to be killed again like Sasuke's parents - and Mom and Dad's sacrifices won't be for nothing._

He'd sworn that from the day he and his sister were told the truth about Minato and Kushina's deaths. They'd been raised by Jiraiya and Tsunade, Minato's parents. They had a happy childhood, but the fact of growing up knowing that the ones who gave birth to them were brought down by the very people they were notoriously passionate about to protect the innocent in the streets from -

He might be a goofball and an idiot every now and then, but who the hell said that someone like him couldn't finish what Mom and Dad started? And that bastard who ordered their deaths and the Uchihas...he was still out there, and he should be behind bars or dead by now...

He was only in his freshman year, but in a couple years, he damned well planned on getting the internship.

He looked forward to his and Hinata's date tonight. Sasuke? He had work today and headed afterwards to Akimichi's for him and Sakura. Sometimes Naruto wondered why his best friend had to go ahead and tie the knot, but he was happy to be Sasuke's best man - and he'd been there for Sasuke when a certain someone refused to show up due to a "client emergency". Naruto had only met Itachi Uchiha a couple times in high school, but the cold man who was the family's pride and joy hadn't been exactly close with his younger brother in a long time.

The loss of both his parents and Sasuke's was one of the reasons they got closer later on in life, as their mothers had been the best of friends.

Sasuke could have gone and been anything he wanted in life, yet here he was today, still following in his brother's shadow in the family company, and behind a counter, no less. Naruto Uzumaki always told him he could do better - hell, he even made a hell of a right choice in deciding to marry his first girlfriend from high school. The three of them also grew up together, and the popular Uchiha got one of his fangirls now.

And Naruto? He got the sweetest, shy daughter of one the elite families with connections to the Uchiha. Hinata Hyuuga - eldest of the other oldest family of Konoha, the highest benefactors of the university and community colleges throughout, as well as the inventors of the many software equipment that made their way into Uchiha Tech and Co. - ironic, huh? That they'd be tied immensely to the Uchiha family.

Despite the three-year difference, Hinata was also Hanaru's best friend. Hana-chan had been in fifth grade when she met Hinata who had been in second, when Naruto had a class with the timid Hyuuga who became a great friend of his, sat next to him and actually talked to him. As the son of known lawyer parents, some of the kids were jealous or even intimidated by him, but not soft-spoken, pearly-eyed Hinata with her tomboy clothes and pretty face framed by ebony hair cropped to her ear length.

It took him until high school sophomore year to figure out why she always blushed around him and looked to him for inspiration in becoming her own person rather than being pressured by her father to join family business.

 _Ugh...why does old-fashioned bull have to continue in today's terms?_

Like him, Hinata still lived at home with her father, but of course, as long as she had a job during college while she worked for her social care masters - and that was at the bookstore on campus - then Daddy dearest would not hassle her social life or any part of her relationship with Naruto.

He pulled up in his beatup sports that used to be his father's that Granny and the Pervy Sage himself - just a nickname when he became a teenager that he gave Jiraiya only to make him flustered and pissed, only for fun - saved for him when he was older, that Dad always wanted him to have if something happened to him. The thing was old but still ran great on gas and mileage, and that was all he needed.

He was the gentleman and opened the door for his lady who had exited her front door after yelling at her younger sister that she'd better not poke around her room, or she'd put extra secure locks on every drawer she had. It made him laugh and throw his head back.

And did you have to ask him what he thought of the pretty lady who now stood in front of him in her purple dress and tanzanite jewelry? The thing hugged her curves perfect, bared her arms - the neckline was rounded and modest - and there was beading around the neck, waist and end of the skirt. Her heels were black and shorter than average; she never liked wearing too-high heels like Sakura or Hanaru.

"Wow, Hinata..." he stuttered. "You look great."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek sweetly. "So, where to?"

"Someplace better than Ichiraku's?" he suggested, making her giggle nervously.

"I s-suppose. Akimichi's?"

Gallantly, Naruto swept her up into his arms, not caring that he might as well risk his balls if Daddy dearest watched, or if the ever peeping Hanabi was taking snapshots for herself. "You better believe it! Everything is on me, baby!" he declared before setting her down for them both to get into Minato's old ride. The engine puffed actual smoke before roaring to normal.

In no time, they were at Choji and Choza's BBQ and Grill. He could never get enough of Teuchi's famous ramen, but the Akimichi's family grill was second best because it was Hinata's favorite - and Sasuke's favorite for his and Sakura's monthly Thursday nights at home. And speaking of which...

"Say, Naruto, your friend Uchiha was here less than half an hour ago."

"Really?" He felt his eyes bulge just when he turned away from the counter to take Hinata to their seat, but she offered to go ahead as she wasn't helpless. "How is he?"

Choza wiped his hands on his apron and grunted. "Same as always - though I'm not an idiot, my friend. His brother is distant as ever, but I guess as your best friend, he would have told you that." _Yeah...Itachi the Ice Prince. That's what everyone says. I saw him less but know enough._

"Yeah, Pop," Choji agreed, coming up with the menus to give Naruto. "Shikamaru was talking about it again."

 _Everyone is in agreement that Itachi Uchiha is a first-class cold case. It's no wonder his baby brother is happy with the woman he loves and isn't under pressure like he is. Sasuke isn't him...and he took the losses of his parents much harder than his older brother._ With a heavy sigh, Naruto thanked both father and son, promised they would order soon, and went back to his table with his longtime, loving girlfriend.

~o~

Nervously, she fidgeted as she turned on the television and scoured through the channels as well as her recorded playlist until none other than Uchiha-san came at the desired time. She had no plans made other than to wait for Hinata in an hour for their girls' day out with Sakura.

 _Okay, girl, you shine today._ The top was black, sheer so you could see the strapless bra, and her jeans were tight black leather. She tied her hair back and looped the bun before pinning it all to the back of her head. Maybe she was going a bit overboard, but the schoolgirl part lingering wanted Uchiha-san to notice her...

STOP!

In perfect timing, the doorbell rang. Target arrived. However, she put aside the memory of the sexy man so she could think about her life that was her precious PC. Hurriedly, Hanaru stood and ran for the door, opening it at once and showing the man himself, looking exactly as she remembered. "Thanks for coming...Uchiha-san," she said, leaning against the side of the doorway, attaining a raised eyebrow at the pose.

"Uzumaki-san," he replied, stepping inside and regarding her one more time before clearing his throat. "Everything is restored and the driver replaced. You'll find my handiwork satisfactory, hn?"

"Yes, and thank you." She took her baby from his hands and moved to the sofa, excited and nervous at the same time. "My files and such all as they were before?" she questioned as she opened it and watched as the power turned on. Each second that passed, her heartbeat began to pick up the pace.

His chuckle made her nerves go faster. "There are secrets about the Uchiha you have yet to learn." She watched him over the screen which had her name and the "sign in" button; apparently the password protection had been removed. She sighed; she'd have to ask for a new one. After so many years of having this thing breathing life, she wasn't sure about this minor change she found so far -

\- and just like the man promised: everything was restored as she left it. "Thank you so much," she said softly as he sat down beside her and leaned a bit TOO close. There was the audible noise of his sniff of her perfume followed by a short hum, telling her he liked it.

"You don't have to thank me."

"But I do!" Maybe she spoke too quickly, because his proximity was starting to make her a little uncomfortable; her heart couldn't even stop its tracks. "You saved my life here."

His smile was slight but seen. "Hn...'saved your life', was it? I don't remember ever being told that I saved lives before," he said softly, just, again, leaning in _too_ close enough to -

"Hana-chan!"

 _SHIT!_

There stood Sakura Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga. The pink-haired medical student and wife of Naruto's best friend was in a summery red dress touching the floor, and her other best friend and loving girlfriend of her baby brother was in a teal velour hoodie set. Both women had their jaws slack before the med student herself pulled it together and cleared her throat. "Were we interrupting something...Itachi Uchiha?"

Hanaru's blood turned to ice. _She...knows him...?_

"Sakura." Itachi's voice added to the chill. "Not at all. I was just completing my business with Uzumaki-san and just leaving."

Oh, damn it, right! She took the paperwork from him, having memorized her credit number by heart by now, and thanked him without a stutter. Why did the air feel so tense now? _What the hell did I miss?_ She closed her laptop and watched as he stood and neatly tucked the forms into his leather bag. She usually left the door unlocked because both Hinata and Sakura were the ones besides Naruto that she trusted - and Sasuke to an extent even though she seldom saw him as much as her brother. But the young Uchiha was troubled by his past shared with both her and Naruto, both their parents slain by scum - and the man deserved to either be dead or behind bars for life.

 _Speaking of life, it's so damned cruel._

"Uzumaki-san?"

"Huh?" Black-tipped fingers were waving before her eyes, and she wanted to smack herself. "Oh, right!"

"Any more problems in the unforeseeable future, contact me personally."

Hinata hurriedly stepped away from the door, letting Sakura part to her place whilst keeping hard eyes on the Uchiha who regarded her from the corner of his eye but didn't acknowledge her with words. He was gone within moments.

The silence was thick before Hinata broke it. "H-Hanaru? That was Itachi Uchiha!" she said softly, fiddling with her well-manicured nails.

"Yeah, he's the one who saved my baby here," she answered proudly, picking it up and walking towards her bedroom door to put it back in its place. "What's wrong with him?"

"I can't believe you didn't realize it," Sakura pointed out, flopping onto the sofa and crossing her legs. "He's Sasuke's older brother."

 _Sasuke's brother..._

She felt like her lungs were constricting. Sasuke had spoken of a brother once, but never spoke his name to HER personally. Was this the one who never went to his and Sakura's wedding months ago...? _Oh, damn, that explains the cool air around him and Sakura._

 _Sakura is right: why didn't I suspect something when I learned he was a part of the Uchiha family?! Why am I such an idiot sometimes? I let his otherworldly good looks, that voice and his charm take over my common sense...AGAIN!_

She might have spoken the first part aloud and didn't realize it, for it got the pinkette's attention and made her snort. "Itachi Uchiha is what you'd call the prodigy of the Uchiha family," she said, twirling a shoulder-length lock around a finger out of habit before letting it go. "He's the one going to take over the business one day, and his little brother, my husband, works under him behind a _counter._ Naruto always tells him he could do better than that -" _Yep, I remember._ "- but you know Sasuke."

"Trying to prove he's worth something, but he and Itachi were never close again after their parents' deaths," Hinata said sadly, opalescent eyes smoky. "I don't always get along with Hanabi, but if that was me and her..."

Hanaru couldn't take this anymore. Her love of her life was back, things would be normal - but now this business with the one who saved it and turned out to be the bane of the existence of her brother's best friend, and according to these two around her. She might be older by three years, but it turned out sometimes she wasn't wise enough to catch on warning signs quickly.

"Guys, can we go out and have our fun now?" That was enough to get them on their feet and making way for the great shopping department - even when it happened to be across the street from none other than Uchiha Tech and Co.

~o~

"Itachi!"

"Uncle Izuna," he acknowledged as soon as he walked through the doors. "I hope I am not too late returning." The older man who could very much be an older version of Sasuke waved his hand and laughed it off. He could be that much stiffer than Madara, but he had a light sense of humor that was rare within the Uchihas.

They were greeted with a certain blonde-haired woman as soon as he was behind the counter. "Oh, Ino, what a pleasant surprise," he said of Sakura-chan's old friend from childhood who had gone on for an early internship to become a member of her father's decryption unit within the force. "I assume your father wishes for the updated version of the 'world's smallest camera'." Given the Uchiha had connections to the force besides this business, the Yamanaka family was also a contact for personal and public matters.

"You two know too well." She batted her lashes, known to flirt despite the fact she was involved with another man - and to an artist named Sai, no less, whom she met in art course during high school, but that was all Itachi gathered. He had his methods of checking out those involved in his little brother's life from the shadows - big brother protection, to put it bluntly. If Sasuke ever found out, his feisty _otouto_ would let loose every profanity in existence.

Giving Ino Yamanaka what she requested, Itachi found his attention snatched by his uncle. "So, the Uzumaki lady? Was she anything special?"

"What are you implying, Uncle?" he asked coolly. "She's only a client. She may or may not be related to Naruto Uzumaki, but I have no such interests -"

Izuna scoffed. Over the years, he'd been the one to set up Itachi with a girlfriend only to fail each time when it turned out they were only interested in his family name or the fortune - average as that was - and it was the oldest motive in the books. Itachi did not like women who latched on him, fawned over him, or used him for attention. His family business wasn't over-the-top, but it was important enough. He was very selective, as he wanted a woman who didn't depend on him or used him...

 _The Uzumaki girl was interested; I saw it in her eyes. But she didn't even recognize me. She didn't see me as a prize to win. However, I see her attention...the rosy blush of her cheeks...her difficulty in looking me in the eyes..._

"Itachi Uchiha, when are you going to find a woman before you become like Madara and me?" his uncle went on.

"We've been through this a thousand times," Itachi interjected sharply. He was barely halfway into his second decade, didn't feel any older, but his uncles who raised him and his brother were always pushing them into dating services. Madara and Izuna were proud of Sasuke's choice when little brother first brought the aspiring doctoral prodigy home during high school.

But what did he really know about Hanaru Uzumaki? _Well, that means one thing I know for sure to do before I make the big step,_ he decided with only half a smile which Izuna noticed.

"Oh, I know that look, nephew. You might hit the jackpot this time around, who knows."

~o~

She tried to go three complete weeks of having panic attacks and thinking about calling the handsome, mysterious Itachi Uchiha whom she discovered was the estranged older brother of Sasuke. She had thought about asking him for details on his brother, but Sasuke would only give his signature "hn" or snap at her, which she could handle, but this time was an exception. She planned to do this one on her own.

While she had been out with her girls that Saturday, she had opened up on her blushing feelings that she tried to ignore but couldn't. She would NOT go far to say it was love, because real love was about commitment, compromise and such. And the majority of the guys she'd dated in the past began as every girl's dream but didn't end up as her cup of tea. She was not even twenty-one yet, and she might die old and alone one day if she kept up her picky habits.

 _No way in hell I'm thinking about THAT. I'm perfectly happy by myself._

Yes, that was it. She would talk to Itachi without being too straightforward, too formal, and damn it, she would try to ease up around him. She let herself smile as she found herself standing in front of Uchiha Tech and Co. on Thursday afternoon just when the day would end in a couple hours. She'd planned to pick up something from the music section instead of the smaller store down the street which was where Tenten worked outside her own classes. She was in touch with a LOT of Naruto's friends, some of who were her own if not the best of like Hinata and Sakura, and sometimes Sasuke. _He and Naruto are more for each other than him and I._

Hanaru shivered at the feel of the wind on her skin, when it made her red-streaked blonde hair ripple over her shoulders; her dress was blue to match her eyes, bejeweled at the straps and baring her arms, ending at the knees with a slit on the left side to reveal some leg. Maybe he would notice her again...

She could NOT forget the smolder in his eyes, increasing the shiver.

Or maybe she shouldn't have come. The second she set foot between the automatically sliding glass doors, she felt her heart being grasped by an invisible hand of dread before she shook it off. _Don't be a scaredy cat,_ she scolded herself before marching over to the area with the sign for music and movies, besides the fantastic array of software protection and installations available.

It wasn't long before she found what she was looking for and decided that she would find the man she was looking for -

"Found what you are looking for, hn?"

 _Kami, it's him!_

Hanaru looked him in the eyes, letting herself be captured by onyx pools. "Yes, I have," she answered, showing him her choice. He must have seen her come in and had watched her when she didn't know it.

"I happened to fancy those two myself," Itachi told her, "and their solo masterpieces. I'm impressed to know I'm not the only one."

"Not everyone cherishes classic and modern combinations - or music that has every culture in the world by one person, or two who share it," Hanaru said sadly, walking away towards a counter to pay for her finding. She couldn't wait to download it to her ITunes when she got home.

"I'll be the one to take care of this for you." She blinked in surprise at the offer but didn't find it in herself to object. _This is too much,_ her mind reminded her. _He saved your precious child and now he's offered to pay for your new music selection - just do what you came here for!_

Hanaru fished for her wallet in her handbag while he ran the CD under the scanner. "Uchiha-san?"

"Please...Itachi will do. Formalities are not so fun after a while."

 _Ooh, is he really enjoying this, or is he as uncomfortable as I am?_ "Okay, then, Itachi. I know I saw you a couple times, and thank you for saving my life's work..." She swallowed, breaking eye contact. "This is too straightforward, but can we see each other again sometime? Like...outside any 'business' I would ask you for?" Damn it, even though she had experience with this, it still felt like awkward and inexperienced high school all over again!

Suddenly, her mind snapped. Sasuke was not close with his brother, but she never asked why - except it had to do with their parents. But it was too late to back away from the elder Uchiha brother now. _Oh, hell, I'll deal with it. I did that before. I won't be broken-hearted in any way, or be a bother to either of them._

Itachi's deep-throated chuckle made her relax a bit, but she couldn't look at him. "You are indeed right when you say it's straightforward -" He leaned over the counter then, so their noses nearly touched. And this was a _public_ place! Sasuke could very much be watching...

"- but then again, so am I... _Hana-chan._ "

 **For those of you who don't know, Derek and Brandon Fiechter are a couple of my favorite YouTube composers. They compose their own pieces as well as with each other.**


	3. Red Blossom Lake

**Having done with my Kim Possible story "Black Pearl", I'm back to this as well as a couple others. :D**

 **Named for one of the newest pieces by the Fiechter brothers on YouTube - and the first date of the main couple.**

Chapter Three

Red Blossom Lake

It had been three weeks since he saw her, and he was on the verge of assuming it would be a much longer time IF he heard from her again. In his mind, if she were going to be the one to make the first move, he'd hoped it was because she wasn't interested in his help again - _that_ form of usage that he hated amongst other things.

He was coming out of his office to bring the latest shipments to Uncle Izuna when said uncle pulled him to the side and slyly whispered to him that "the lady fair has arrived". Scowling, Itachi looked in the direction of the front doors and started in his tracks when _she_ stood there, looking like a shy mouse scampering about, trying to steer clear of cats or snakes. She was sweet and tender, confident - but now he saw her attempts to keep it that way slowly coming apart.

Itachi wasn't sure what came over him, but he moved to stand behind the counter and looked down, pretending to work with Izuna while occasionally looking up and watching as she walked about, looking for... _the music section._ This did pique his interest.

His opportunity arrived.

 _How should I approach her?_

Wasn't the obvious answer in front of him?

Before he knew it, he was right behind her. He watched closely; she seemed unaware that she was being watched. While she perused the classical world section for the newest releases, he took in her long yellow hair streaked with tomato red, which he found interesting enough that it was uncertain to be natural or hand-highlighted. Her skin looked like it was soft to the touch, ivory and touched with honey...

Itachi was surprised to discover that she fancied renowned fantasy composers Derek and Brandon Fiechter, whose pieces could rarely be found anywhere in the world - and Itachi Uchiha was one of the known few to possess EVERY one of their collections. Enough to cover half a wall in his apartment. "Found what you are looking for, hn?" he asked finally, making her whirl and look at him in surprise.

"Yes, I have."

"I happened to fancy those two myself, and their solo masterpieces. I'm impressed to know I'm not the only one."

She shrugged, lifting one shoulder. "Not everyone cherishes classic and modern combinations - or music that has every culture in the world by one person, or two who share it." She was making her way towards one of the currently empty registers. Was she purposefully avoiding him suddenly? Mildly annoyed, Itachi took advantage to scan her finding for her.

While he watched her, he couldn't help but think maybe she was worth the trouble. He was a good judge of people, and he knew it, and he did have her checked out in the last three weeks after pulling a few strings with Inoichi Yamanaka. Hanaru Uzumaki _was_ the elder sister of Naruto, marking her as the daughter of Minato and Kushina Uzumaki - the lawyer and his wife who dared to try the man who ordered the deaths of Fugaku and Mikoto. She and her brother were raised by their grandparents, but while Naruto strived to be just like their father, she had less ambitious plans and instead pursued the writing career just like she told Itachi. Currently, she had no employment, which made him furrow his brows.

 _She's not going to last in that manner._

"Uchiha-san?"

Her speaking his name made him come out of his thoughts, the price on the screen above him. He cleared his throat. "Please...Itachi will do. Formalities are not so fun after a while." _And mark me as the prodigy, not a man. I sometimes don't know if I really am human, inside the shell I've created for the world..._

"Okay, then, Itachi. I know I saw you a couple times, and thank you for saving my life's work..." He raised an eyebrow; she was back to her nervous stutter again, bordering on Hyuuga-chan, Naruto's girlfriend, whom Itachi learned only through Sasuke once. "This is too straightforward, but can we see each other again sometime? Like...outside any 'business' I would ask you for?"

Right then and there, Itachi Uchiha's world turned upside down. He almost dropped the compact disc before he shoved it into the small plastic bag and gave it to her, chuckling in his throat. She...she'd...asked him if they could see each other. After only three weeks and two meetings having to do with "saving her life", as she so innocently put it. Oh, she was indeed as she called herself: straightforward - and so was he.

"I-Itachi?"

He frowned then, discovering that he had leaned over and nearly touched her nose with his. "Hn, Uzumaki-san?"

"I think you called me...Hana-chan," she said with a swallow, taking her purchase from him and having her credit card in the other hand, yet to be swiped. He felt his cheeks burn; Itachi Uchiha _never_ blushed, not even in front of a woman. Could this get any more embarrassing...?

"Maybe I should go."

He straightened up. "No, don't leave yet," he insisted, taking a few breaths. "Forgive me." _Just what AM I apologizing for? Calling her an honorific of affection!_ If he had to admit one weakness to himself, he would say this young woman was bringing the mighty Uchiha heir down with her. "Thank you for considering me a...savior of yours, but I'm afraid that won't be satisfactory on either of our parts. You hardly know me as I hardly know you -" _Other than your family and current history._ "- but I wish to take your hand in the near future for a proper courting, but _only_ if you are willing." The last thing he wanted was to come onto her so suddenly. It had been so long since he was with a woman, and never did he anticipate it would happen any time soon.

Her eyes sparkled, the shy glisten vanishing as if it was never there. "Itachi Uchiha...are you asking me on a _date_?"

~o~

 _Itachi Uchiha asked me out..._

 _Itachi Uchiha..._

She couldn't stop thinking, feeling like she was going to pass out. She left the store in a rush after paying for her CD, excited to add to her selection - and excited because the sexiest man she'd met in years had _asked her out._ Her heart had never been so rapid in her life since high school...

When she fell onto her bed in the sanctuary of her room, Hanaru looked up at the ceiling, sweating in every pore. _Oh, God, what do I do...!_

She considered calling her grandmother because Tsunade, the tough cookie she always was, would know what to do, like she had with her granddaughter's past relationships. And what if this one would end just like the others? She swore if this ended like that, no more men. She might as well end up a spinster the rest of her life.

After about the fifth ring, she heard the slur of a familiar voice of her grandmother's husky, baritone accent. _"H-H-Hana-chan?"_

"Grandma!" She creased her brows in a frown, sitting up on the jewel-toned quilt in dismay. "Were you... _drinking_ again?!"

After thirty years in the emergency ward, Tsunade retired from the hospital and spent a lot of time drinking out with old friends and colleagues, but it wasn't like she'd ever been in any trouble - except twice getting a DUI in younger days before she married Jiraiya and getting pregnant. It seemed tonight she must have overdone it again, and it was only Thursday. She received a throaty laugh on the other end. Who knew how poor Naruto must be taking it. _"I assure you -"_ A cough. _"- it's nothing compared to last time." And last time involved poor Grandpa getting a blow to the head for his joke on the "shaking of the bust" to the club, celebrating his newest book sold._

Hanaru scoffed. "Like last time when you nearly killed Grandpa over that crack?" she pointed out, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing the skin of her thigh out of habit.

There was a cough and clearing of the throat. _"He said it first in front of all those people when we were supposed to be having fun over that new book of his -"_

A second voice arrived. _"Aw, knock it off before you say something that will traumatize your granddaughter,"_ Jiraiya joked before speaking to _her_ directly. _"Don't mind her, honey; she's crazier than usual."_

 _"You old pervert, you're calling me crazy tonight! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CALL ME NAMES?!"_ Hanaru slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting into a fit of giggles, forgetting for the moment why she was even calling.

"You guys," she interrupted, "it's about the fact that I met someone. But since _Grandma_ isn't in her right state of mind at the present -" On the other line, Tsunade exclaimed in outrage while Jiraiya bellowed with laughter. "- I guess I have no choice but to come out and say it. I've met someone."

Silence, before it was broken by none other than Jiraiya.

 _"Wh-what? You mean, you found a nice-looking guy after you promised you'd swear off men until you finish college?"_ he asked once he'd calmed himself down. _"I thought you said that!"_

"I did...but I met this guy recently. My baby crashed, and I called the tech company nearby; they'd sent him out here, and he saved my life," Hanaru answered triumphantly, flopping back and squealing once, feeling like she was on cloud nine - without going TOO far.

Now Tsunade had her turn. _"You mean to tell us that you met this new boyfriend of yours when he_ saved _that laptop we got you a long time ago?!"_ she exclaimed. _"And it happens to be a member of the_ Uchiha family?! _Hanaru, you've gotten too high this time! You might go down for sure!"_ Her cheeks turned red, especially when her grandmother HAD to use that word.

 _Of course, I expected her to be a bit ballistic on the fact it's an Uchiha - but she's gonna find out_ who _now._

"Grandma, please, he's not my boyfriend. We just met and we barely know each other yet - and if you both want to know, it's Itachi."

 _"Wait, wait - wait, ITACHI UCHIHA?!"_ they both burst, making her flinch at the raised volume.

"Yes, both of you. Sasuke's older brother."

 _"I don't need to ask if the emo kid himself knows about this, right?"_ Jiraiya had to ask before his wife audibly whacked him on the back of the head, making him shout that she was going to kill him again.

Hanaru was tempted to hang up then and there, but she really needed help. "You two can kill each other after you help me out with this. He asked me out today, and it's next Friday night, but I don't know if this will get serious after that, and Naruto as well as Sasuke can't know about this just yet since you know them both..."

~o~

He found himself outside Hanaru's door, forcing himself to stay together. _Romance and flowers...they are nothing but for fools._ He looked down at the small bouquet of purple violets in his hand. They were not from the store, but instead plucked from the field. They might not last, but he considered it worth the effort. He had his reasons for choosing this particular flower rather than the silly red rose that was expected.

 _Delicate love._

Itachi frowned again. He wasn't sure if he would go THAT far to use the word love just yet.

 _Affection._

The frown slipped, replaced by a slight smile. _Perhaps I'll let myself have this exception to assume she might make my dreary days brighter than they used to be._ And that was as far as he was going.

 _Modesty._

Who could forget the blush on her skin, a clear sign that she didn't willingly pursue him for obvious reasons?

 _Faith._

He sighed sharply, reaching for the doorbell and ringing. Sasuke knew nothing about this, and he would keep it that way - for now. But did _she_ tell her own younger brother about him?

 _Dignity._

Just what he drew up when the door opened, and there she stood in front of him. He was stricken by the simple elegance before him. She was in a dress the color of the flowers in his hands, which she suddenly looked down upon with some surprise. She was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen - but somehow, it wasn't enough. He wanted to know more about her; he also wanted to know if he could trust her with his own dark secrets. But if he got everything out in a single night, who knew what would happen afterwards. _Take it one day at a time..._

"I didn't expect you to...get me these," she said, taking them and smiling. "Thanks?"

Itachi looked into her wide honest eyes. "Hn."

"So, where are we heading?" She closed and locked the door behind her before following him down the stairs. He looked back at her and smiled as soon as they were at the bottom of the stairs.

"You'll see."

What he had in mind was the great spot that his parents used to sneak off to for their romantic getaways, and when he and Sasuke were children, it was one of their favorite play spots. The sun hadn't all the way gone down, but he did set up a few paper lanterns in the area just for them. Beyond, the great lake was covered for the majority with red water lilies. A soft gasp was audible in his ears; Hanaru had never seen anything like this with her own two eyes.

"It looks like something I would bring to life in a book..."

During the drive, she opened up to him about her life in college, about her brother and grandparents, and the fact that her brother wanted to heatedly and passionately pick up the torch and make damned sure their parents' unjust sacrifices were not in vain. They'd been butchered by the unproven hand of the man who had ordered the same deed done to his and Sasuke's parents - and that was when the air had gotten tense by the time he parked his expensive heirloom just outside the spot; she had yet to see where he brought her.

"I was eleven," she'd said, looking him in the eyes, glazing, "and Naruto had only been eight. They loved this town so much as they loved us, they were willing to do anything for it. That was what we always loved most about Konoha."

Itachi had closed his eyes, keeping his fingers closed around the steering wheel. _They cared enough to serve justice for my parents...why does the world have to be so full of "happy for now" and then being ripped away from you?_ There never was "happily ever after" as some people still believed, and he had yet to ask his new date this - in the event of time, not tonight.

"I've met your brother a couple times. He and Sasuke are polar opposites."

"Tell me about it; you sometimes have to ask yourself how and why Naruto still makes it to the top despite the fact he goofs off," Hanaru had said, bursting out laughing when she told him about one such prank her _otouto_ pulled off: he'd replaced his sensei Iruka's teaching notes with some smut he'd found in Kakashi Hatake's stash. He and Sasuke had both been in third grade at the time.

He never saw the blond boy often, but Itachi confessed his internal amusement at the boy's antics. But a human being like Naruto hoping to live up to his parents' legacy? _He will be put to the test. If he continues his antics in any way, I doubt he will be taken seriously._ "It's a wonder how on earth anyone will keep him on his toes and not go off on a rampage," he told her half-jokingly.

"Well, I am the one who's done the majority of watching his little back all his life. That's what a big sister is for." Her eyes glittered. "You could say I have an attitude that our mother had, but our grandmother -" She threw her head back and laughed. "Her temper is as _legendary._ You gotta wonder how Grandpa is still alive after all this time."

Itachi couldn't keep the slightest hint of a chuckle from escaping. Wasn't this how the majority of the women of the world were today? And then he remembered what she said about being there for her little brother: _That's what a big sister is for...and that is also what a big brother is for._

 _Sasuke probably hates me more than he lets on. He must envy Naruto and his sister's relationship..._

He'd decided then and there to bring himself and Hanaru out of the car, taking her to the spot he set up. Where she continued to tell him about herself. Another would say that this was selfish, to her face, but Itachi _wanted_ to hear her life. He wanted to tell her his side, but he wasn't ready.

Besides her passion for mythology, fantasy and art, she shocked him when she accidentally let it slip that she had relationship issues.

She didn't seem to realize it, but she leaned against him. Itachi swallowed; no one had done _that_ to him before, and the few who had were the attention-grabbers. "I've had bad experiences with boys and men; I'm more for serious relationships, but they never seemed to be. And they also look at me like the domestic type instead of a person with dreams to accomplish...and I feel like if I kept this up, I'm gonna die old and alone."

 _She thought she loved, too, but it was all hormones, and she is unable to let..._ this _...transpire again. I see it in her eyes; she takes commitment seriously._

Something tugged his hardened heartstrings and made him lower his guard further. Now he would safely say he did not regret bringing her out here in the slightest.

"I feel like I've said too much about myself. Tell me about _you._ "

~o~

Naruto was livid when his _nee-chan_ called him, over a month later after apparently begun dating a certain Uchiha. Nope, it wasn't Sasuke, because Sasuke was married to one Sakura. It was the Ice Prince himself. Which was why he found himself marching over to her apartment just before his classes on Monday. She didn't have hers until tomorrow, so today was as good as any day. Anything he'd do, he'd do for his big sister.

She answered the door with a frown. "Naruto, today isn't a good day to fight -"

"No, Hanaru, I agree," he said brusquely, slipping in when she stepped back. Just like him today, she was in a sweatshirt and jeans; his, however, was bright orange while hers was light gray. "But take it from your protective baby brother, that man is bound to break your heart like he did to Sasuke." _And if he does that to my_ aneki, _he's gonna face the wrath of the Uzumaki. Me, Grandma and Pervy Sage together._

Hanaru sighed and shook her head, her high ponytail swishing from her shoulder to behind her back. "I know what I am doing, _otouto._ I know enough about him and his brother, and putting you and me in the mix, but that's not the only reason. I don't know how to explain it. This was just our third date last weekend, and I haven't felt so happy." Now her eyes were shining, something Naruto hadn't seen since she got out of high school. Had it really been that long ago? He never liked any of her previous boyfriends, and he was sure Itachi Uchiha would be no exception, because of him and his little brother who happened to be Naruto's best friend.

But looking at his sister, seeing that bright glaze in her eyes, it was just what he knew he had when he looked at Hinata, and she would look at him the same way. Same for Sakura when she fell over for her hubby-kun, the mini Ice Prince. But Hanaru did not know what she might be getting herself into with the man who never showed up for his own little brother's wedding...

Sighing dejectedly, Naruto walked over to hug her. "Hana-chan...I just hope you don't end up regretting this later. You're my sister, and I want to look out for you like you always looked out for me." She returned the gesture without a word.


	4. One Year Later

**After the wait, I bring you the new chapter. :D And so the bigger drama begins.**

Chapter Four

One Year Later

Naruto had said that he wanted to just look out for her the first time she told him she'd become involved with Itachi Uchiha, the next in line for the Uchiha corporation. Hanaru admitted she was nervous about that, because even though it was natural in life for the firstborn to be next, it was too old-schooled and distasteful for her. But that was not all.

She and Sasuke barely ever exchanged more than a few words to each other. He didn't even smile at her, and he certainly didn't want to see or talk to his brother. Itachi had given up trying altogether, and the only times they did communicate - or rather, be forced to - was during a certain holiday or family get-together. Their birthdays, then Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then at Christmas, which was when Itachi did the one thing she never expected so soon, after eight months of being together.

In front of his uncles, his brother and the rest of the family and the Christmas tree, he dropped down to his knees and presented her with a smoldering ruby set on a plain silver band, ringed with smaller white diamonds to give more fire.

Did she mention her finger lit up on fire and spread to the rest of her body when he placed it on and asked her to marry him?

 _It's really happened._

After her brother, she brought her boyfriend to meet her grandparents who ended up being all over him - and of course, Tsunade went into "protective granny mode" and cracked her knuckles, telling Itachi that if he did anything to hurt her granddaughter, she would personally roast his balls and serve them with dumplings. _Oh, I have never felt so embarrassed hearing that._ Hanaru's cheeks burned with the highest level of an inferno. Naruto and Jiraiya? They turned just as red as she and Itachi stifled snickers of their own.

Her life had changed because of this man.

It was not only because he saved her precious life, nor was it because of the connected past they shared involving their parents - it was more than that, and she couldn't explain it. Why should she? Itachi was everything she would have dreamed of in another life: gorgeous, sexy, confident, passionate. Hell, he even encouraged her to follow her dream even if she lacked a specific direction. He'd sworn he would never make her do anything she didn't want.

That night by the red blossom lake was the best ever. It was something out of a fairytale...only it actually _happened._

He didn't get her roses either; he got her violets that he'd plucked from the field himself. Flowers didn't last, but that meant more than just picking them from the shop or the side of the road even.

Which brought her back to the situation with her little brother when she finally summed the courage to tell him about her new boyfriend after the third date. Naruto had been overtly protective like he used to be with her old boyfriends in teenage years. Teenage drama in the past, she was now in a more serious relationship when it seemed impossible. She ignored the tiny voice in her head that warned her it was too good to be true, but she knew that good and well. Itachi was flawed, but who wasn't?

He continued to keep his cool, icy shell for others, only dropping it around her. He would smile at her more genuinely than at others. She never asked him much for anything, and she was learning a few tricks from him about fixing anything technical, though she confessed it was stressful at times, because technology was a bitch that you had to be careful about. Leave to the experts to handle for you.

Speaking of experts, when she got to meet Madara, her boyfriend's uncle and current head of the business, she'd have thought that with her smile and sweetness, she would win him over like she did Izuna, his younger brother whom Itachi told her had made him walk up to her that day, when he admitted to being too shy at first. _The great Itachi Uchiha too shy because of a woman? Isn't that funny? And it proves he has another side not a lot see._

Back to the issue with Madara Uchiha.

The first time she met the man, wearing a flowing blouse printed with roses and her hair rippling with a new shampoo of the scent, and sweetly smiling as well as giving the man her best and wishing to prove she wasn't a gold-digger like the other girls his nephew used to have on his arm - but it turned out he wasn't convinced and therefore had to inform her he would put her to the test, even if Itachi DID decide she was wife material for the family.

"He hates me," she'd said to Itachi bitterly when they left the estate. "He sees me unworthy of you, simply because of status!"

He'd placed a kiss on her forehead. "His opinion on you matters little. He raised me and Sasuke, but in the end, this is my choice to make, and not yours. Besides, who else would take over the business if he decides to disown me?" he asked lightly, but she didn't like that at all.

She wanted to say that Sasuke could take over and prove himself, but would that REALLY make it right? And wasn't it what the younger Uchiha wanted: to be recognized and surpass the older brother? To show he was capable of something and not coming in second?

 _Maybe this is all out of the question. Or maybe it's all relevant because within the Uchiha is nothing but drama._ No matter; Hanaru Uzumaki swore after only Izuna lovingly welcomed her, she would show Madara that she was capable for his eldest nephew and heir.

"He is only concerned, due to the previous women before you," Itachi told her softly before leaning down to capture her lips. "But they mean nothing now. I have the upmost confidence you will win him over in time, Hana-chan."

How could he be so good and faithful? _Again, too good to be true._

In the months that passed, it seemed that the older Uchiha did seem to start to warm up to her, but it would take a lot more than her choices in career and her passion for fantasy and art to win him over. But thus far: she cared nothing for expensive jewelry, designer brands and so on. She worked with Hinata at the bookstore, since she enjoyed a familiar face and every literary subject there was. She loved sharing customer choices with those coming in her way. Who'd have thought that her best friend eventually got her boss to give her a position?

Life is just good, right? Her family all over her boyfriend - with her little brother being the cool exception, though Naruto was still wary of Itachi because of obvious reasons. However, he did respect his sister's choice and supported her. Madara began to smile at her more and warmly welcomed her into his home during each holiday in the year she dated his nephew...

...and it was by Christmas that fortune smiled upon them all, which led to the present when she gazed down again at the ruby around her finger. She could never get enough of this.

It was nearly the end of March now, and spring break was coming up for her brother and their friends. Since she was the eldest, done with school and had a job now, she was happy for them all and confessed she'd missed the glory days so soon. But that meant she would get to see them more, unless they had plans already. Sakura could use the break since she'd overworked herself lately, according to her brother. Both of them had gotten the internships they wanted, and both doing so well. Although since Sakura was still married to Sasuke, Hanaru was concerned that the wife having a career might affect her marriage; the younger Uchiha brother, on the other hand, was accepting but brooding in addition that he was low compared to his wife. _Because he feels inferior to Itachi._

It was at this point, she decided that she was going to step up to them both, in time for the wedding in three more months.

She and Itachi planned to wed at the very same lake of red blossoms where he took her for their first date - which was also once his and his _otouto_ 's childhood play spot, as well as his parents' romantic escape. Nothing better than a location with special sentiment.

Grandma Tsunade was in happy tears when they began planning the wedding, and per tradition, the mother-in-law as well as the bride's mother were in majority charge over much of it, but Mikoto Uchiha died a long time ago, and Tsunade just wanted her granddaughter happy. So, to pick out the dress had been an adventure because it could not be a showstopper. It wasn't a showcase; she was going to marry her man and have a great time with their family and friends at the end of the day.

Add in that this was her dress. Sakura wore her mother's on her big day not even two years ago, but that did not mean Hanaru would do the same. Kushina's had been lost a long time ago, and Tsunade had been unable to afford a traditional kimono of her own, so one of her off-the-racks had been the best to suffice, but not now for Hanaru.

Hanaru took one more look at her reflection that morning and was ready to go to work, not before waltzing to meet her fiancée in time to see him finishing off a couple skewers of dango and green tea - this early in the morning - at their polished oak counter, smiling warmly when she joined him. It was too early, but she had a plan in mind to get him and his brother on their toes even if it meant becoming involved in their long-lived feud.

~o~

Itachi had always thought every woman was the same before he met Hanaru - but she turned his life upside down the moment they met. She was the best thing to ever happen to him, and in a sense, he'd proven his brother wrong when Sasuke once told him that he'd wed the love of his life while his eldest had not been lucky. He'd shut it all off and pretended he was fine when it was far from the truth.

Now he was going to marry the right woman. It was a great honor to his heart.

Uncle Madara may have raised him and Sasuke, but he happened to treat his new love like an "outsider", never mind the fact that her parents were the ones who dared to persecute the one who had ordered the deaths of Fugaku and Mikoto - but the elder Uchiha patriarch had been firm, stating that he would see the young woman prove herself in his eyes that she wasn't like the others that came before her. Angered as he was, Itachi held up his case that Hanaru WAS different, but the leader had spoken. And it happened in eight months' time, and by Christmas time, that was when Itachi decided that she was the one he'd spent his life searching.

His mother would have loved her, had she lived, as she would have loved Sakura Haruno, now Uchiha. While Hanaru did not match up to the pinkette in terms of upstanding in society - Sasuke's wife was going to be a doctor - she made up for lighting up the room with her smile, something her brother shared with her. Quite the opposite of Sasuke.

Speaking of him and his brother, ever since proposing to his beloved over the holidays in front of the entire family - both his and hers at the Uchiha holiday estate in the countryside - his _otouto_ did smile before it was gone...and the explosion hit the ceiling when Itachi desired for him to be his best man at the wedding.

"Seriously, _aniki,_ you want ME to be your man of honor?" the younger had asked sarcastically, making him sigh and rub his temples.

"Yes, and it's your responsibility to help me out, Sasuke. Consider it an honor." He'd said it too harshly, but he had to spell it that way, and it made his brother snap back.

Sasuke had glared him with all the fury of hell. "Responsibility! Yeah, just like when I asked YOU to be my best man, and you refused, so I had to trust my best friend to be there for me - and you _never_ showed up on the day I needed you the most!"

 _No, I didn't. I regret it immensely...but I felt my presence was merely spoiling your happiness, little brother._ But he never had the will to say the words, instead heatedly arguing until Hanaru and Naruto both came in to break it up. Naruto glared up at the elder Uchiha brother and pointed out that his best friend was right about being a coward and not coming to his baby brother's special day, therefore missing out and permanently shattering the old bond they had.

But it seemed that it was too late long before then. The brothers lost each other a long time ago when their parents were murdered.

Both Uzumaki siblings shared the same hopelessness in their eyes when they apparently had no idea how to lighten up the tension between the brothers, but what could they do about a link and trust that was destroyed beyond repair? Itachi never wanted to admit it, but perhaps it was the truth...and he failed Sasuke in more ways than one. Time to face reality. Having his brother as his best man would never make it better.

 _I'm a coward as he and Naruto have said._

But his bride-to-be did not believe he was, but she was not a fool either. She showed it in her eyes and to him when they were alone, that she did not like what was going on between him and his brother in the slightest, and he wholeheartedly agreed with her - but what could be done? "I've done all I could, Hana-chan," he told her now, this morning, after feasting on dango and green tea, which made her frown before going to the fridge to pull one of the rice balls she'd made yesterday and offered him one as well as began feasting on one for herself. If there was one minor disagreement they had, it was the fact he enjoyed his favorite sweets at this time of morning as well as during lunch and at night, but Itachi Uchiha was healthy as a horse and exercised as often.

"Well, Spring Break is coming up for him, Naruto and the others," she announced after a sip of her tea. "Friday -" _Two days from now._ "- I'm thinking about inviting them over here so we could all enjoy a nice dinner together." She smiled, showing all of her teeth. "Does it sound like a good idea?"

He knew her well enough; this was her way of trying to patch it up between him and Sasuke, and this time, he hoped for both their sakes that she had an ulterior motive to speak to his brother since there were three months left before the wedding.

Itachi wanted to tell his future wife that it was in vain, but he did not. If there was one thing that he promised would never change, it was the fact he did not wish her to carry out actions or to think about anything for his sake - but with him and his brother, it was far more complicated.

Then Hanaru, his sweet and charming bride-to-be, stood up, fair hair flowing over her shoulders, the arms bared in the white cotton blouse, and her fantastic legs flaunted by the faded jeans. She was a vision without being in sparkles and rich fabrics for public attention. She was comfortable with herself and not obsessed with impression - except with his uncle. "Need me to drive you?" she offered, but he only smiled and pecked her cheek. _Life is better than ever: a beautiful and strong-willed bride, an apartment we now share, and no worrying about the future...for now._

"No need, _koi._ But, would you like me to pick up something? I may end up coming home late because of the meeting..."

She sighed, shoulders slumped. "I don't know how to feel about that." She knew that he would soon be taking over the business because Madara was at the retirement age, although he didn't look or feel his real age. The man was young enough to even run a nightclub if he wanted to. In his days, Madara was the life of the party while Izuna was the stand-by and scowled at his elder brother's antics before their father set him straight.

Experience taught the man well but made him feel guilty that he couldn't save his youngest nephew from depression.

"I know, angel. But it's of great importance." Now as a man, Itachi was revered as the heir to Uchiha Tech and Co., so tradition had not been broken even by today's standards...but lately Itachi had considered something that came out of the blue, from the depths of his heart, that coming up with means of breaking it properly to Uncle Madara was difficult, for it meant incurring the elder's possible wrath.

If he ever thought to tell Sasuke he would have done this, all for him, the younger might very much say that it would change nothing...but would he take that chance?

~o~

 _Oh, good ol'_ aniki, _right on time,_ Sasuke thought sarcastically when he was handing the customer - a man in his early thirties who had gotten his pre-teenaged son his first tablet for an early birthday present - his product and bade him a good day. He glared at Itachi's form coming in through the front doors but did not bother to say good morning. Sasuke was doing this on purpose for his own reasons.

One, he was not looking forward to Friday in which his future sister-in-law - and none other than the dobe's big sister - had invited him and his wife, Naruto and girlfriend Hinata over to her and Itachi's apartment for a "nice get-together before Spring Break". What was her excuse now? She was no better than Naruto with her attempts at using sunshine to bring distance together.

Second, which was worse, the bastard had the nerve to make him his best man when he never showed up for his own little brother!

Sasuke grunted as he turned his back to Itachi far away and entering his office where their uncle Madara was waiting for him, and the younger knew what this was about. "Well, good luck becoming Mr. Big Shot now, _nii-san._ It was meant to happen anyway." When their uncle stepped down, it meant answering to big brother as the boss, which would further increase their unstable, uncomfortable relationship. And the wedding day would be just as worse, but there was also a tiny part that rubbed it in that Sasuke had been proven wrong, that Itachi found a woman who treated him the way he was supposed to be.

Naruto had told him that even though he supported his _nee-chan,_ he did not like the fact she might become the stay-at-home wife for Itachi. Because he would become the CEO/president, she might lose his attention or have to give up her job to become a housewife if kids came along. It made Sasuke snort; over his dead body, if you asked him. Mikoto had been a housewife, and a good one, but Hanaru Uzumaki? She was too bright and free-spirited for that, in ways like her brother. Itachi wouldn't ask her to give her independence up, would he?

Sasuke put all thoughts of his brother and future sister-in-law, as well as Friday, aside and went back to work. Sakura would be late today because of the list in the emergency room, as well as two surgeries she heatedly planned to tackle to prove to her superiors.

 **Read and review, and next chapter takes a fun turn. :D**


	5. Magic Unleashed!

Chapter Five

Magic Unleashed!

"I'm going to bring my m-mother's famous recipe for _anko_ dango, if that will work," Hinata was telling her as she helped bring in the box of books of assorted subjects to put on the shelves in alphabetical order, and by author order in addition, "but I don't think Sasuke -"

Hanaru brushed it off. "Forget what he will think. It's not like he has a sweet tooth addiction like his big brother anyway," she stated, sniffing and sneezing when a little dust off the shelf got in range of her senses.

The ebony-haired woman in her tight black tank and matching jeans gave her a little laugh before clearing her throat. "No, but maybe a r-recipe with his infamous tomato addiction that Naruto likes to laugh to me about," she said softly, the blush creeping to her cheeks. "After all, would you like this to accommodate everyone?" She bit her bottom lip, nervous that the Uchiha brothers might break into a fight because of the younger, since they all knew how he was.

The blonde woman was on the verge of going into zoning mode. An argument - the last thing she wanted, but it might be out of her hands. Itachi never told her to stop trying to fix what was already broken, but what if he did, and on that day? Or before then?

Him and Sasuke were the least of her worries. He said he was meeting with his uncle today because Madara might be stepping down in the near future, but when? _If you ask me, if it's tomorrow or next week, it's still gonna be too soon even if it takes months. I might not see him a lot like I do, or if I end up becoming his little housewife like his mother used to be._ He'd told her once he would never make her do something she didn't want, but marriage changed _everything._

 _He's been the one to have everything on his shoulders - from losing his parents, his little brother, and now this. He always has so much, and I've done everything to support him instead of having him leaned on by me. I'm doing just that now...but now I'm afraid it won't last._

One thing was sure: he didn't choose to take over the family business. He shouldn't do something just because it was tradition. He should man up and make his own path, should have done it a long time ago. If it wasn't too late now...

~o~

"Ugh, nine hours straight without a break!" Sakura exhaled as she slouched into their apartment, dropping her bookbag to the side of the doorway and kicking her sandals off. Sasuke looked up from his study and smirked. "Oh, don't give me that look, Mr. Uchiha!" she scolded, waving her finger at him even though her eyes were shining when they landed on him. "Try removing a tumor from the cerebrum and then a bone marrow whose owner was a seventy-percent survival chance!"

Sasuke chuckled. If he had it in him, he would have asked her if she could implant a chip into his frontal lobe so he could think of a genius way to miss out on Itachi's wedding like he did to his own - _last minute client, my ass. He'd know payback is a real bitch._

His wife looked at him pointedly. "Sasuke, you're still not brooding over the wedding and being best man again, are you?"

"Sakura, please, you just got home from a long day. Didn't you have enough on your shoulders to deal with mine today?" Of course he cared enough for that, and he just wanted to dodge the subject on purpose, but she wasn't buying it. With a huff, Sakura crossed over to him and leaned over, the subtle glimpse of her curves through her buttoned-down blouse enough to draw his attention before her voice made him look into her eyes.

"You can avoid this, but it won't work on me. I've handled your moodiness and your single-worded 'hn' about your brother as well as the fact he wants you there for him when he's done the opposite not even two years ago. I did not take the role of therapist with you because we both know what you're like. Maybe Naruto would say this to you, but right now he is not here!" She slapped the surface of his desk, making him jolt back. He rarely saw her act like this towards him; her temper was usually reserved for Naruto and others, but almost never him.

Right now, Sasuke raised his chin in defense.

"Your point, Sakura?"

She gritted her teeth. "My point," she ground, "is that you should put some big boy pants on now and take this like a man. What your brother did was two years ago, and as much as I am sorry you lost your mum and dad, that was also a long time ago. I might have grown up with both parents, but I don't know what would have happened if it did. The guy responsible got away with it, and as cruel as that is, what's done is done. Who knows, maybe he'll be killed by someone else and serve justice in a funny way?" Sasuke did not want to think about the old pain and the bastard who ruined his and Itachi's lives - _and Naruto and Hanaru's_ \- forever hadn't been seen or heard since his failed persecution. As far as Sasuke was concerned, the bastard could rot in hell on earth...

"The point is that we all have to move on eventually. Acting like a child isn't going to get you anywhere, Sasuke. What will you gain if you decide to come up with a good excuse to leave your brother with no one to support him on the happiest day of his life? How would that look to your uncles as well as Hanaru's family? Naruto, hmm? You think he'd let that slide easily?" she demanded, eyes flashing like green fire. Now Sasuke found himself shrinking down in his seat. _Oh, now I know how you felt, Naruto..._

"And as for Friday - yes, Hana-chan and I talked about it - you and I are going, and you are gonna talk to your brother - and it's final!"

By this time, he was sweating. Swallowing, he nodded his head.

When she was done ranting, she leaned back and laughed, throwing her hair back. "Man, I can't wait for Spring Break! I love working at the hospital, but I'll be relieved to have a few days' break during the week with you guys, and you and I can finally have more...alone time," she said suggestively, leaning over and kissing him. His drive on the rise at the meaning of the words, Sasuke pulled her into his lap and deepened the kiss, ready for more and not caring about real dinner or upcoming troubles.

~o~

Itachi roared with laughter at the sight of the feast his fiancée was making during the day, having been up since dawn making sure everything was perfect. He shook his head, wondering how she could still be energetic after spending the majority of the evening prior working on another chapter of her book. She'd planned to finish by next month, she said, but she was nervous beyond belief.

 _She is pursuing a dream to be an author. She deserves recognition, only because she wants to._

What made him smile was the sight of her in the blue dress he remembered, calling it his favorite, when she first walked into his family store. When he discovered they both shared a common musical treasure. She was smiling, laughing and dancing to the exciting tune of their culture - this one being about a shogun in battle - and concocted a variety of rice dishes: _onigiri, sekihan,_ and brown rice. She'd also brought forth a sushi platter, miso soup and seaperch, and finally ramen - _Naruto's obsession._

His little _koi_ was a housewife in no time. He gave a whiff of the air and felt like he was in heaven again, taken back to the memory of his mother's cooking...

And it made him remember the surprise he'd been given by Madara that day of the meeting when discussing his future - and the future of the company. His uncle had now gone early on a two-week break, beginning today, in Taiwan and therefore would leave him in charge until he returned. Itachi closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. Sasuke was capable of managing if he wanted to - and that led him to put his younger brother on the same pedestal as his fiancée.

 _I did not find the courage to speak to Madara that day. When he returns, I will sum it up. On my honor and on my future bride's life._

"Where are you going?" Hanaru asked, pulling the last of the course out of the oven.

"A surprise," he answered simply, winking at her and leaving her alone.

He left the bottle of wine under the bed, having gotten it out at dawn, but just as he was pulling the box out, he stopped at the sight of the items that he did not remember seeing before...but something tugged at him inside. Something was drawing him to look at whatever it was, knowing it was Hanaru's -

 _No, wait. I should not intrude on her privacy like this._

But the ancient-looking carved wooden box and the tome accompanying it told another story. Itachi frowned and perched on the side of the bed, setting the box down on the bedside table - his side - and carefully opened the lid, gasping softly as he revealed a collection of clear, neatly cut crystal shapes in the forms of a fox, a cat, a serpent, and others in existence. He smiled softly, before it was gone. How come Hanaru never told him about this? Or was it new?

When he coughed softly at the little dust particles that reached his nostrils, he doubted "new" was the word.

Subconsciously, he opened the book and found himself staring at two different pages, the pages looking old, yellowed and threatening to tear off at the slightest touch. This had to be an heirloom, a family secret of some kind - what else could it be, hn? Itachi found himself looking at the inked images of the catlike creatures he recognized as the _bakeneko_ and _nekomata_ \- the commonality being that people in general often mistook one for the other.

Itachi found himself reading the ancient text aloud to himself, softly but audible to his own ears...

...at the same time the crystals in the box began to light up and hum.

The air around him began to warp. He felt his eyes widen, and he dropped the book, which closed momentarily before flopping back open on the page he had been on. What was going on?!

On instinct, Itachi jumped from the bed. He made a mistake, and you know what they said when curiosity killed the cat. He never let it get the best of him before, but now was a first. However, when he was just reaching the bedroom door, it slammed shut and locked itself on its own. Growling, Itachi grasped the knob and turned, twisted and jerked. "HANARU!" he yelled over the wood. He tried one last time before giving up altogether. _Am I going to die like this?!_

Looking back at the opened box of crystals, his heart leaped when he spotted that they began to crackle back and forth with little bolts of lightning. Somehow it reminded him of his fiancée's book or any of those fantasies his mother used to read to him and Sasuke, but _this_ was...!

He had been standing in the middle of the room now when IT happened faster than Hanaru arriving in time but screamed as she failed to get the door open in time. The colors burst before his vision as well as a great puff of smoke surrounding his entire being.

~o~

The slamming of the bedroom door made her shriek and nearly drop the dish of perch, after an hour's hard work, before she recollected herself and ran in the direction of the bedroom. Itachi was in there; something had happened!

Her blood ran cold as a terrible fear gripped at her, the preparation of the feast and knowledge that their guests were coming soon forgotten. She also forgot that she left the front door unlocked for them to just come in, since they knew her well enough. _Oh, no..._

When she reached the door, she tried to open it but found that she couldn't. There was no way her fiancée would lock it without reason. "Itachi!" she screamed, and on the other side, he was yelling for her, too, before all was silent save for the sound of gas in the air...and gray smoke began to seep out from under the door. This couldn't be a fire, right? Because how could he start a fire in their bedroom, and with what - and why the hell would he?!

"ITACHI!" Hanaru shouted one more time, slamming her body against the door, and it wasn't long before the brass knob suddenly flared as though it was on fire, and she howled as she nearly burned her palm. It was red, but it wasn't close to being peeled like a second-degree burn. "Shit!" She cursed and stepped back by three; more like leaping like a deer than herself. She looked back up when she heard the knob turn, and the door swung open, releasing more smoke -

\- followed by a series of _mews._ "Oh, Kami!" Hanaru exclaimed in shock when she saw WHAT came strutting out, head high and looking around rapidly before spotting her and stopping in its tracks. Wide black eyes blinked up at her, set in a matching face covered with fur and topped with triangular ears, set with a tiny black button nose, and the body was thin and sleek along with a whipping skinny tail.

The little black cat stared up at her, letting out another meow before sitting on its hind, the tail wrapping around its body briefly before flicking back out.

"I- _Itachi_?!"

 **Yup, now we have Itachi as a cute little kitty. :D (dies from cuteness) Thanks to Hitoko-sama for the inspiration, once again. But again, no Kyuubi involved. :(**

 **For those of you who don't know, the _bakeneko_ and _nekomata_ are actual cat demons in Japanese lore, and a lot of times, people don't distinguish one of them from the other for some reason.**

 **The song playing when Hanaru is cooking is "Shogun" composed by both Fiechter brothers. :)**

 **So everyone knows, the use of the crystals and the ancient textbook was borrowed from "My Brother the Pig", along with the elements of smoke and colors (also in "Curse of the Cat"), but slightly twisted in terms of Itachi's predicament. Now let's see what happens now that his fiancée has discovered him in cat form - and how do their brothers and their ladies also come in now? ;D Let's find out soon.**


	6. He's a Kitty

**The name of Naruto's car was named after the one owned by Sam and Dean Winchester in the show "Supernatural", the suggestion made by my boyfriend who loves the show. XD**

Chapter Six

He's a Kitty

He picked up his girlfriend and the Uchiha couple in his dad's '67 Impala - an American import - and headed to the other happy pair in no time. He had to admit he was excited for his sister now, having stopped worrying for her so much - although a tiny bit of doubt remained, because how could he not have the right? _Reminder to self: little brother has right to protect big sister._

Naruto was in a jovial mood for some reason, but was there ever a day he wasn't? The sun beat down on him and heightened the color of his orange t-shirt.

As promised, Hinata's dish of _anko_ dumplings - used to be made by her late mother - was in her hands. She was in a lilac-colored blouse and faded, torn jeans, and her hair clipped behind her head. He swallowed, remembering a time they were all camping during summer and he'd gotten up to use the bathroom...and accidentally came across a _very naked Hinata_ dancing before the waterfall, pulling her hair down from the style it was currently in. Luckily she never knew he was watching, because Naruto had no idea WHAT would have happened if she did.

 _Who'd have thought that seeing her gorgeous body was the first time to make me have my first dream about her?_

"Naruto," she said, climbing into the front seat with the foil-wrapped treats in her lap, leaning over and kissing him, before they were shouted over by the loud Hanabi. " _Imouto,_ don't you dare take another -!"

"Too bad, _aneki!_ " the younger Hyuuga girl shouted back, sticking her tongue through the doorway before closing it. Naruto shook his head, laughing and throwing his head back. _Some things never change - but maybe when she gets on her own in college unlike her big sister next to me._

 _Maybe she'll never throw away those photos she still takes for fun and blackmails her poor sister._

Hinata looked at him with hardened eyes. "May we please get out of here?" Oh, he was too happy to oblige. Onward to the other two - and when they arrived on the university medical campus, there they were at the bottom of the stairs of their apartment. Tomato dish? Oh, joy, the _teme'_ s "sweet tooth". Sasuke just had to bring a touch of himself, didn't he? Or was Sakura the one to insist he bring something else instead of himself to a luncheon his brother and future sister-in-law invited them to, and _lost_ the argument?

Once upon a time, Naruto looked at preteen Sakura the way he looked at Hinata, when it was all just hormones at the time and she focused on Sasuke, the emo pop dude with the tragic past - a past that matched Naruto's in a matter of weeks.

Back to the couple who had been together since high school. The pinkette med student who had the internship she wanted as he himself got the law one and could feel himself taking another step closer to his dream - she was very pretty. That wide forehead she still had and the bust smaller than his Hina-chan's was worthy of an ass-kicker instead of a pretty girl standing by with the guy she wanted as a trophy. NOT that Naruto was saying she was. She was in a flowing, bright pink shirt embroidered with neon green blossoms, and the pants were too bright a white that could make him go blind unlike his own signature orange.

 _I wonder if Sasuke can go blind over that if not by me._

Speaking of Duck Butt, he was in a light blue collared shirt and black jeans, with his hands in his pockets and emotionless, but when his best friend and old rival arrived with his girlfriend beside him, a smug smile crossed his face whilst his wife's lit up with sheer excitement.

"No ramen?" Sasuke questioned snidely. "That's a first."

"Hana-chan said she's having it included amongst her cuisine," the blond answered ecstatically. His big sister knew better than to disappoint anyone, believe it. She even told him she was preparing the "finest ever", and when did she ever lie? But what about that Ice Prince called a fiancée of hers? She was the one who did the majority of the cooking, from what she told him. Said he cooked only on a special occasion. Well, he supposed Itachi couldn't be entirely icy...

As he drove them to the address of his sister and eventual brother-in-law, he listened as Sakura spoke about how she lost a patient in the emergency room and actually wept for the loss, which almost made him lose control before she boxed him on the back of the head to keep focus on the road. Hinata swallowed nervously as she offered her sympathies for the dead person who had been a heart attack victim. Sasuke "hn-ed", as usual, hardly having much of a bleeding heart to show anymore.

 _Unless it's someone REALLY close to him._

And now that Naruto thought of it, what would he do if he lost his wife - or his brother, for that matter? After all, his emo self was stemmed from losing his parents to one certain bastard, but so had _Naruto_. Did you see HIM closing himself off from a lot of people, including his own family? Sometimes Naruto wondered how the hell anyone could love someone like him - and maybe Itachi just didn't know what to do anymore with his little brother. _So, that was why he didn't go to Sasuke's wedding, and they hardly speak anymore except when forced to get together._

Would Naruto give up on his friend, if it sounded unrelated to this? _No, not on my watch!_

They arrived in under half an hour. Hanaru always left the front door unlocked since she always knew they'd come on time. Few people did that nowadays since real lifelong friends were hard to find. He let Hinata step in first before following, Sasuke and Sakura in tow - and smoke was in the air.

"Hanaru!" Hinata cried, almost dropping her treats as she hurried into the kitchen, and Sakura joined her, but Hanaru wasn't there. The food - everything from ramen to rice dishes and fish - was laid out and still steaming, but it would soon grow cold from being neglected. His _aneki_ wouldn't leave the food like that, so something was wrong...

Sasuke yelled for his brother. "ITACHI!" He looked over to Naruto. "You think it's a fire?!"

"I hope not," he answered, hurrying with him down the hallway, shouting at the top of their lungs for their siblings, before they halted at the sight of the beautiful woman in her blue dress, looking down in stunned horror and lost in her own little world...but both men followed her gaze and gawked in surprise at the little black cat looking wide-eyed back and forth between them and Hanaru.

"Hanaru, where did you get the cat?" Sasuke asked, sniffing the air and catching the smoke coming from _here_ \- and from the bedroom she shared with Itachi. Realizing that, he hurried over to peer around the corner and frowned. There was no fire, which was the weirdest thing ever. "Huh...that's weird. Why did we see and smell smoke when we got here...and why are Itachi's _clothes_ on the floor?!"

 _Itachi's clothes on the floor...the cat..._

"Uh..." She was at a loss for words, then slowly knelt down to pick up the little feline into her arms. The thing meowed and nuzzled against her, making her smile a little, though it appeared faraway. Looking into its eyes as they met with his, Naruto felt his blood chill despite the lingering heat in the air.

 _Oh, hell...in the name of all the Kami..._

"Itachi!" Sasuke looked at Hanaru hard. "Where is my brother, and what the hell is going on?"

She swallowed and cradled the cat in her arms, conflicted in her eyes that she did not know how to tell him without being called mentally ill. Since the raven's back faced Naruto, the blond rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of how to get his sister alone so they could talk about this and then try to gather the others together for this. _We're all in deep shit now...including the furball looking at me like I'm a mouse._

~o~

Her mind was going crazy, and her body was losing control of itself. Hanaru felt like she was going to pass out. Her brother and soon-to-be brother-in-law were in front of her, and Sasuke was pestering her about his brother's whereabouts, which he had every right to. And Naruto was giving her the look that said they needed to talk, and everything was crucial. She could NOT agree more.

 _Itachi..._

 _...the cat..._

Her fiancée was a _cat_.

"Hanaru, inside!" Naruto hissed, gently grabbing her shoulder and pushing her into the slightly smoked bedroom, then quickly closed the door behind him. She had known that the cat - _Itachi_ \- was still in her arms, for he squirmed a bit before resting his head against her bosom, making her blush at his tiny body which made her feel warm and fuzzy as he was. To hold her future husband in cat form like this...

 _Back to attention!_

Naruto was sitting on the side of the bed, looking down in shock at the opened chest which displayed smoldering crystals, and the tome lay open at his feet on the two cat demons. And as Sasuke pointed out, Itachi's clothes lay strewn in a pile on the carpeted floor: his crisp white shirt, dark jeans, and his necklace and ring. "Okay, _nee-chan,_ how DID this happen?" he asked, keeping his voice down in case any of the others heard, because if Sasuke caught on especially... "Because it looks like you left it under the bed for him to find..."

"I did not know he was going to look under there!" Hanaru hissed, then found herself looking on the bed and at the box of vintage wine that looked like it had been in the Uchiha family for generations. Itachi had wanted to surprise her and the rest of them, and it made her sad. She set the cat down so he went over and pawed at the box, looking up at her afterwards. His tail flicked out in every direction, which was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Naruto noticed himself, but given the circumstances - and three other people outside - this wasn't a good time to laugh and pet the kitty. "He said he had a surprise that I never knew about, so how was I supposed to know?"

As the more mature adult, she was the one responsible for this, but it was an accident! _An accident that needs to be fixed and fast._

The cat looked at her and meowed again, strutting over to sit down beside Naruto and lick his paw. "Yeah, but if Granny finds out, then she's gonna erupt. You know she will," her brother pointed out.

"You think I don't know that? But she won't blame me." Tsunade loved her grandkids too much to slap them in the faces, but it WAS Hanaru's problem. Her fiancée was a cat now, and he needed to be turned back. Before whatever happened... _happened_...

She tried not to panic and failed, collapsing to her knees. Naruto was before her in a buzz.

"Hanaru, get it together! We're gonna fix this - right, Itachi?" he asked the cat, who mewed and bobbed his head up and down in positivity, making them both laugh once Hanaru pulled herself together at her brother's insistence. "Now, we got to think about how to explain... _this_...to Sasuke even though this puts us at risk of being in a mental ward..."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door - and by none other than the man himself. Hanaru remained on her knees, on the floor, and looking up at her transformed fiancée in his feline glory, whereas he stared back at her as he jumped off the bed and landed before her on all fours, going up to put his paws on her thigh. She leaned in when he nuzzled against her face, and she tried not to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi. I should have told you something about myself..."

He gazed at her with unblinking eyes, silently demanding to know what secret she kept from him.

"Hanaru?" Sasuke's voice snapped her back to see his glaring face. Sakura and Hinata both looked worried. They had not found Itachi yet, and the food was on the verge of getting cold, but that was the least of their worries. They saw the mess as well as the opened textbook, but said nothing as they continued to stare at her and the small black feline looking over her shoulder and mewing at them.

What they did not realize - but would know now - was that Itachi was here, and sitting in her lap.

~o~

He had grown impatient when he could not find his _aniki_ around, and Hanaru did not answer him. He saw the horror in her expression and almost asked her what her problem was - before alarm flared in him.

 _Did something happen to Itachi?_

Sasuke might hate his brother, but that did not mean he had no right to worry for his well-being. The same went for his elder. While his wife and Hinata were in the kitchen taking care of everything, and relaxed that there was no real fire in the apartment, while he and Naruto sought out Itachi and Hanaru...only to find her standing over a small, sleek black cat and then taking it into her arms.

Just _when_ did Itachi and his fiancée take the time to get a new pet he never knew about? But then again, how often did his older brother tell him anything without going hostile?

When he found himself looking into the bedroom, there was smoke remaining and darkening the walls, and there lay Itachi's clothes as he said. If his brother was strutting the house in his birthday suit and thought it for his own amusement, then Sasuke would get on his ass if he had to. He paused his train of thought there; on second thought, Itachi wasn't like that at all. _But if he and his woman were "having fun" before we got here, then he must have lost track of time._

Sasuke just about lost his patience when the shocked Hanaru didn't answer him right away about Itachi - before his anger and frustration was momentarily forgotten when he found himself looking into the cat's eyes, a strange, fuzzy feeling coming over him as if those eyes belonged to someone else...the way the adorable creature looked up at him and wouldn't let him out of its sights, just before it got Naruto's attention...

The dobe had to pull his sister away, closing and locking the bedroom and leaving Sasuke to comb every inch of the apartment, calling Itachi's name and getting nothing. From the bathroom to the office, to the only guest room...

No Itachi.

He nearly collided with his wife and the dobe's girlfriend when they showed up. He almost cursed. "No sign of him?" Sakura asked worriedly, and he shook his head. "Naruto and Hanaru?"

"In the bedroom - and they're definitely up to something. Something they're not telling me." Oh, yeah, and if something happened to his brother, they were going to answer him if he had to threaten their very lives...

"...we're gonna fix this - right, Itachi?"

Sasuke froze. Wait, Naruto said his name - but the younger didn't hear Itachi's voice, making him narrow his eyes.

"Now, we got to think about how to explain... _this_...to Sasuke even though this puts us at risk of being in a mental ward..."

Okay, that was enough, but before he could knock, Hinata softly whispered to him, "Are you sure?"

Of course he was sure! Without waiting for an answer on the other side, he opened the door, ignoring Sakura hissing at him that he was overreacting. He ignored her and stepped inside - but the sight of his sister-in-law and the cat with its paws on her leg, and the fact she held it close to her now made him wonder why she paid the animal attention instead of - "Hanaru?"

Naruto glared at him but said nothing. Sasuke ignored him and instead kept his attention on the scene with Hanaru and the kitty, which now looked over her shoulder and straight at him with those eyes...

"Answer me now. What is going on?"

"Sasuke, don't be a bastard!" Sakura snapped, then softened when she looked at both Uzumaki siblings. "We still haven't found Itachi."

"That's because..." Hanaru sniffed and swallowed, clearing her throat and turning around to look at them all. She cradled the cat for another few moments before letting it go, so it waltzed over to stand before him, Hinata and Sakura. Smiling, Hinata knelt down and scratched the animal behind the ears, emitting soft purrs of pleasure and closing of the eyes.

Hanaru's answer had the finality of the execution's drum.

"The cat _is_ Itachi."

Something inside him froze as he continued to stare at the animal, momentarily moved when it meowed and moved to stare at his best friend and Hanaru. He felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. _No...it can't be...how could this animal be...?_

He didn't know what to think, but this was just _insane!_ "No, this is crazy!" he burst out, stepping back when the cat tried to paw at him. "There is no way in hell -!"

"But it is!" Hanaru insisted, standing up and striding over to him. "If you would just please let me explain. This was all an accident, and it's nothing in our heads!" She almost walked on the feline before it bounced out of the way and landed on all four feet, halfway turned away as it continued to watch the scene play out. If Sasuke wasn't so pissed, he would have thought it extremely cute. He and Sakura had talked about getting a cat but never found the chance yet.

"No, if this is all a joke," Sasuke yelled, fed up and throwing his hands in the air, "then I am out of here! I've put up with his shit our entire lives, and what's he done now? He plays a joke of being missing, leaves his clothes and a nearly smoked apartment - and now I am to believe he is a CAT now? What is next, Hanaru, Naruto? This is some magic fantasy where he is transformed by unknown forces; is _that_ it?!"

"TEME!" the dobe shouted at the top of his lungs. By this time, the entire group was gathered in the kitchen. Hinata was rubbing her shaking hands nervously, Sakura was fuming and wanting to punch the hell out of him, Hanaru had picked up the cat again and was bringing him along, and Naruto now... "Would you stop being what you are in the name and listen to my sister? I get this is all hard for you to understand, but could you try and SEE that cat is your brother?!" By this time, he was panting for breath and looking down at the wide-eyed fluffball in his sister's arms. Sasuke scowled down at it, into those eyes which seemed to be returning the look...

...almost the same way _Itachi_ always looked at him. Hell, he could almost hear HIS voice now.

 _"Foolish_ otouto _..."_

He found himself looking into the gaze of Hanaru, and she was torn between cursing him out and holding back since she had the cat with her, but she could always put him down and use her fist. Sakura was on the verge of exploding past boiling point. Hinata was fighting back the urge to slip away from the drama. And did you even have to ask of Naruto?

And just like that, his attitude brightened as a "brilliant" idea came to life. "I got it! Hana-chan, put him down," he told his sister, and she complied, putting the small cat down on the tiled floor. He mewed and twitched his tail. "Itachi, if this is you, then show us which of these -" He stepped aside to show the vast array of dishes on the island table. "- is my favorite food."

Sasuke snorted. " _Your_ favorite? Please, dobe, only an idiot would figure that out." To his surprise, the cat meowed again and leaped onto the surface and walked over to where the ramen was, touching the edge of the bowl with his paw. He blinked. _How did...?_

Sakura let out a disbelieved noise. "Oh, I don't know...Hana-chan, if this is Itachi...I don't have a scientific explanation for this. I feel like I am in a dream."

"But I'm seeing this like you are, crystal clear," Hinata piped up, dropping her hands to her side.

"Exactly!" Naruto said excitedly. "So, what do you think, Sasuke?"

He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, ignoring the feline now sniffing the air before licking his paw. Okay, Itachi would know Naruto's favorite food, but only because his fiancée told him, right? He was now inclined to believe the animal was his brother, but he also wanted to know HOW his _aniki_ had been turned into a kitty cat.

First, he needed one more affirmation. If Itachi knew Naruto's favorite dish, then... "Fine...Itachi...point out _my_ favorite of the choices," Sasuke said tiredly, reaching up to rub his forehead, an impending headache approaching from all of this.

A small paw reached over to the tomato and rice dish he and Sakura had made together. "SEE?" the women and Naruto cried collectively. Sasuke suddenly felt like the breath had been knocked out of his lungs. _Itachi knows me too well...a little better than I remember...which means that I am NOT dreaming after all!_

"And how about _you?_ " Hanaru asked suddenly, and the answering paw touched the tri-colored dumplings that Sasuke hated but remembered his big brother loved immensely. That was enough to convince him of the disbelieving reality of the situation...and _now_ he needed the explanation.

"Itachi..." he started, but his words failed him. He got an answering mewl which made him die a little inside. He never thought he'd say this, but his brother really _was_ precious in his kitty form. Those wide eyes, the licking of his paw, the flickering tail, and the noises he made...all of it was too much.

Unconsciously, Sasuke made his way over and picked the small animal up and held him in his arms as he followed his wife and the others into the living room so they could listen to the Uzumaki siblings' story which may or may not help Itachi.

 **With the game of getting Sasuke to believe that the cat IS his big brother, I had been worried as to how to bring it to life, so I hoped this was enough. It is also similar to what happened in "My Brother the Pig" when trying to get the lead heroine to see that her brother had been turned into a pig.**

 **Next chapter: Hanaru and Naruto reveal the family secret behind Itachi's transformation. :D**


	7. Spirit of the Neko

**A hilarious Halloween fic for Itachi, Sasuke and the rest of the Akatsuki I've done, a new chapter for "Timeless" - and now I have a direction for the mythos. :D Though I must warn you that you will be SHOCKED.**

 **I have both followed original Japanese lore as well as not, creating a balance, so I hope this makes sense. Please don't be too harsh.**

Chapter Seven

Spirit of the Neko

It had been difficult and very silly to get Sasuke to see that the adorable little black cat was really his big brother, but when they did, the expression on the younger Uchiha's face was _priceless._ She never expected Hinata to take this so easily, or Sakura for that matter. Since the pinkette was a medic-in-training - which meant science dominated anything fantastical - Hanaru had assumed that to convince her would also be just as difficult despite the fact they were friends.

Now they were all in the living room, with Sasuke holding his brother in his kitty form - the sight making her die a little inside from the sheer adorableness before she mentally smacked herself back into the game - with Naruto on his left and Sakura on his right, and Hinata right next to Hanaru. The food in the kitchen was getting cold, but that was the least of their worries.

 _Itachi is a cat because of my idiocy._

She never thought he would find what had been in her family for generations - both via blood and in-laws alike - but Naruto was right: Grandma Tsunade would explode when she found this out. After she explained everything the best she could, a call to her was in order since she herself knew the basics whereas her grandmother had more than she did. Naruto knew as well as she did.

Itachi looked up at her and then around, mewing a little before squirming in his brother's arms; Sasuke got the message and loosened his hold. The cat crawled onto Sakura's lap, and she smiled down at him, patting him on the back of the head and scratching him behind his ears, making him purr in pleasure. She smiled before clearing her throat when Sasuke lost his patience. "I'm waiting."

Could he not see that this was hard for her as it was for him? They shared _Itachi_ after all! _They're brothers, and we are getting married. We have to change him back, with Grandma's help if she can, but first I have to get him and the rest of them to understand._

"Okay," she said finally, sitting up straight. _We might not go to the loony bin after all._ "Almost forever since our earliest ancestors, the women in our family - in both direct bloodline and in marriage - have been the keepers of the animal spirits. Everything from the fox to the serpent - and even the feline. Each and every one of us has this part inside of us like a parallel soul that we can't see or feel even though it is there."

In the longest living folklore of their people since the dawn of time, there existed the ghosts and demons of old consisting of the _yokai_ \- the supernatural beasts - the _yurei_ \- the spirits of the dead prevented from entering the afterlife for whatever reason - as well as the shapeshifting creatures called _obake_ , and others. The animals themselves had become too wild to be allowed to roam free amongst the mortals and other spirits, so the gods deemed them to be encased within newborn humans as to ensure they wouldn't be on a rampage again.

However, there were a few recorded incidents in which the human container either became the animal by accident or on purpose. But for several hundred years now, such an event hadn't occurred.

 _Until now._

When Hanaru told this to the others around her, Naruto slumped in his seat, his gaze darting back and forth between her and Sasuke who looked all the more disbelieved that the line between fantasy and reality had been blurred - but his eyes told otherwise. Even Sakura was dismayed, and Hinata was busying herself now with bringing in the sake from the kitchen to try and calm everyone's nerves down. Hanaru had placed the bottle into the fridge overnight to chill by today, being additional to the old family vintage Itachi would have surprised them all with.

"Which means that Itachi happens to be a... _cat?_ " Sakura asked after a pause, looking down at the little feline who mewled once as he looked up at her, bobbing his head up and down in affirmative, then turned to look back up at Hanaru, his fiancée. She saw the same question reflect in those eyes:

 _I never knew I had a cat side of me. Fitting, given cats are for good luck and the need for positive results._

"So, if this is Itachi's...animal spirit -" Sasuke struggled to get around before bursting. "- then what the hell happened to his _body_?"

"He, um...is sitting right next to you," Naruto told him, motioning to the purring animal between him and Sakura who let the cat go and walk over Sasuke's lap to sit with Naruto, who happily accepted him. Itachi put his paws over the lightly laughing blond who gave his slender back a good caress.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Shut. _Up_. Loser."

 _What happened...all the crystals were smoked, but the cat one was broken beyond repair. What is going to happen has a limit of time if we don't act now..._ "What I think happened is that Itachi was transformed - or replaced," she added, because to her they were both the same thing, "into the physical spirit of the cat."

Hinata gasped softly. "Itachi is really a kitty," she stated, crossing her fingers, "but according to the myths I have read, housecats could someday become either the two-tailed _nekomata_ or the single-tailed _bakeneko_..." She trailed off there, and that was when the tense silence that filled the air began.

Hanaru had been dreading getting to this part, which was why Naruto was all the more worked up about this as she was.

Even Itachi the cat looked at her with wider eyes than before, not making a sound.

Sasuke glared up at her. "The _neko_ beasts, my brother...would you care to enlighten us as to HOW this happened?" He motioned to his cat brother without looking at him. She almost groaned and was on the verge of tearing her hair out from all of this. _It seems he cares more about getting this fixed than he does about his own brother..._

"Besides the daemons being placed within the hosts at birth, they are successfully sealed away by a crystal token that each guardian is given with great responsibility. The stones are marked by an inked seal and a blood oath - but this was broken by a fluke." _And my own stupid hand by not putting the book and tokens in a safer place._ "Itachi must have read the ancient text which reverses the _jutsu_ , therefore breaking the crystal, so this changed his physical being into the spirit of the cat!" she said in utter frustration after taking down the cup of sake in a gulp, her throat burning.

"Excuse me, but I still am having a hard time believing that books and stones turned my brother into a little black furball!"

The cat hissed at him before licking his lips. " _Teme,_ would you just listen to her?" Naruto growled. Sasuke glowered back before leaning back against the sofa.

"So, this isn't some crazy lie?" he asked.

"No, it's no lie!"

"And that is my brother the cat," Sasuke stated, smiling now to one corner - the corner facing the cat when he mewped and twitched his tail.

Sakura, having not spoken for fearing anything scientific she said would just clash against everything Hanaru was saying, cheered and turned her body around to her husband. "Yes, finally, Sasuke! That's your brother, Itachi!" she said proudly, leaning up to kiss his temple.

Hanaru could smile now. _About time, bastard._

~o~

Okay, so now he was a believer. His brother had been turned into a little black furball as he said. He'd heard enough even if it sounded ridiculous. He was willing to believe anything at this point.

"Yes, finally, Sasuke! That's your brother, Itachi!" Sakura said when she turned and gave him a kiss. Her temper could be controlled at its capacity. He leaned in for a moment before one important question came to mind, coming out through his own mouth: _Was anyone ever changed back into a human when this happened?_ He didn't want to think about his _aniki_ spending the rest of his life the way he was. He wasn't sure what life would be like without Itachi, but it wasn't like he was really DEAD.

Itachi would be missed more than him if something happened. He was favored better, he was looked at by their coworkers and the rest of the town - and he also had the woman he loved. If they couldn't change him back, what if he was a cat _forever_?

 _Sure, I'll be missed by Naruto and Sakura, and a handful of our friends from childhood - but the public won't miss me at all. I won't spend the rest of my life hearing "We miss Itachi this, we miss Itachi that"..._

All of that was beside the point, bringing him back to his question being answered by his future sister-in-law who by now was looking down at and fingering her engagement ring as she answered. The small diamonds around the big ruby sparkled as it glowed deep as a heart. "Yes, they were usually turned back, but...it hasn't happened in a while."

Sasuke felt his heart sank. _It hasn't happened in..._ "H-how long exactly?" Only to be answered by dobe, who else?

"Well, roughly -"

"I was asking Hana-chan, not you," he snapped, getting a tongue stuck out at him.

"Roughly," Hanaru ground out before going calm again, "five to six hundred years ago when some of our ancestors were living in Kyoto."

 _Must have been feudal times, wartime when the city suffered immensely and took a century to rebuild. Great battles between the samurai and the religious nuts...but nothing like that ever since. During this time, the transformations must have been forced for unknown, demented reasons?_

He decided he didn't want the answer to that right now. "But when it happened, what was the process of changing the person back into a human?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know!" Damn it, that was NOT what he wanted to hear. "It wasn't like Naruto and I were there."

He was on the verge of snapping with these dead ends they were coming to, but damn it, his brother was a fluffball because of her! He wanted to blame her so much because of this family curse; why was he so conflicted?! "Then is there anyone in your family who knows what you and loser here don't?" His inner self was peeking through from the depths of his subconscious: _You're letting your anger cloud your judgment._ As always, he pushed it back and waited for his answer.

Her face lit up then; he turned to his side to see Naruto's matching, and both spoke up in unison. "Grandma Tsunade knows." That was only one person, but it was better than no one. Sasuke knew Tsunade, but not well. He remembered her heated temper but admirable wisdom. She was a retired member of the Medical Corps, and her husband Jiraiya was the creator of a literary porn series known as _Icha Icha._

But if she was as hot-blooded, then her reaction to knowing what happened would cause an immediate explosion. Oh, yes, he saw this coming from miles away. But that wasn't important. "Then she can be the one to change Itachi back into the bastard he was?" Sasuke demanded, adding in his mind, _So I won't spend the rest of my life hearing about him in mourning, always hearing his name..._

Hanaru was smiling, but now it seemed forced. The answer was then and there without spoken words.

But it turned out that the discussion was far from over, because Sasuke saw the darkening of her eyes, then turned to look at her brother whose gaze matched. Naruto's eyes fell downwards to the cat, who was purring and mewing softly, then brought his paw up to lick. His eyes then blinked and looked up at his brother. Sasuke's heart sank.

"Yes, she would say so...but we are short on time."

~o~

 _We are short on time._

By short on time, Naruto meant that in two weeks, the transformation would be irreversible. And by irreversible...

All of them now sat in the kitchen with the food reheated and being devoured now, but the light mood wasn't present anymore when his sister intended, and Naruto saw it all in her eyes: she would never forgive herself for never telling Itachi, but how often did anyone risk telling someone they had ancient magic history without being committed to the asylum or someplace?

Speaking of Itachi, the kitty sat on the floor between her and his brother, lapping up rice and pieces of fish which was better than any flavored cat food of those ingredients. Hanaru had placed the vintage back into the fridge since it didn't feel right popping it open without him being in human form. Naruto knew her well enough for that, and he agreed. He had Hinata on his left, since he was on Hanaru's right; on her left was Sasuke with Sakura on his other side, and finally was the cat himself between his brother and fiancée.

"Why are we short of time, Hana-chan?" Sakura asked as she dished up more rice and tomatoes for Sasuke and then herself. She'd finished up the fish that _nee-chan_ had made specially.

Hanaru nervously swallowed some of the pink-stained rice. "In two weeks will be the full moon. By then we might be able to reverse the transformation...but if we don't, then that time missed will be the expiration date, but it will mean we lose Itachi forever." Now her eyes were shining as she fought to hold back the tears. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat; Hinata was trying not to break out herself.

And Sasuke was apparently the one not taking this well more than all of them were. "What would happen, he's a cat forever?" he pressed.

"Not only that, but he becomes something much worse. Which is why I'll call Grandma Tsunade soon, because the sooner the better."

Itachi the cat looked up from his meal and meowed, licking his lips with that adorable pink tongue of his. To imagine this cute little creature - _remember, that's really my future brother-in-law_ \- turning into one of those things by the time their precious limit was up. His poor sister...not only if Sasuke lost his big brother - even though they were far from close - or the family business lost its precious heir, Hana-chan would die of a broken heart worse than she did when they were kids.

 _Long before Itachi made everything worthwhile. And look at him_ \- And he was staring into the cat's eyes once again, getting the message. _\- he won't be happy as a cat. He'll watch his life pass him by, and what will become of the woman who loves him? His brother? He's going to die of misery..._

He found himself sharing a glance with Hinata, but sadly, she couldn't think of anything comforting to say.

 **The event mentioned when Hanaru spoke of ancestors in Kyoto, when the last human-turned-animal incident took place, was during the Onin War which lasted from 1467 until ten years later. Samurai battles and religious ones as well, in addition to widespread mass destruction and a century of reconstruction. That real historical event, bits of Japanese lore AND "My Brother the Pig" - hope it meshed as well as it looks.**

 **Man, oh man, poor Itachi. :( And the poor group - let's see how the "road trip of a lifetime" goes now. Danger and fun awaits as promised.**


	8. Toil and Trouble

**Somehow my computer is being weird in terms of an error when I publish the chapter, though the chapter DOES still show up in the system. I get no email notification that it shows up, readers don't either, and the day of update never changes either. Huh...I hope it's resolved soon, whatever it's going on. Probably maintenance.**

 **A bit of a warning: mentions of feminine issues as well as a brief showing of "that time of month", but nothing overtly graphic. I tried my best to keep it toned down as to not go to the M rating.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the latest. :D**

Chapter Eight

Toil and Trouble

 _Here goes nothing._ Hanaru stared at her mobile, shaking and feeling her palms break out into sweat. Itachi sat at her feet, watching and flicking out his tail. He mewed and purred as he watched her. She smiled down at him and reached down to scratch him behind his ears before taking him into her arm and holding him beneath his belly. His frontal limbs latched onto her without digging his claws into her breast or her dress by accident.

Naruto was right behind her, biting his lip and sweating bullets with her. They were going to face the wrath of Tsunade very soon. Don't ask if her fury was the same as Kushina's or twice, or triple...it was all the same.

Hanaru swallowed. _Deep shit,_ she said to herself for the umpteenth time in a row. The longer she prolonged this, the worse it would get.

"Go on, _aneki,_ " Naruto urged, then taking the poor cat who was mewing in her arms as he knew how she was feeling. Itachi relaxed but continued to look up at Hanaru. He was really glaring at her, hard and piercing her soul.

"Damn it all," she cursed, pressing the letter with their grandmother's name for speed dial.

It wasn't long before their grandmother's voice filled the air, Hanaru having her on speakerphone. Even the joy of hearing their elder's voice didn't lessen it. _"Hana-chan, what a surprise! Your grandpa and I were just planning on leaving tonight."_

"'Tonight'?" she repeated, earning a hearty laugh.

 _"Naruto didn't tell you? We're going to Shukuba Town for the weekend, which means Naruto has the house all to himself,"_ Tsunade said gleefully. She must be drunk again - oh, joy, her habits, huh? Which meant she either wouldn't remember, or she would take this better than expected...or who knew...

Hanaru raised an eyebrow at her brother who blushed pink. _I forgot,_ he mouthed to her, Itachi looking up at him and meowing before swiping his tail over Naruto's arm instead of his claws. "Oh, Naruto was going to, but he forgot, I guess," she said with a sniff. "But...I guess it's a bad time for what I am calling for." _If we tell her now, we ruin the good time they're heading for, but it's better sooner rather than later..._

 _"Oh, please, shoot, the both of you! Naruto, I know you're there. I still have good hearing enough to catch you breathing and knowing I'm on speaker."_

Her heart exploded as quickly as it had calmed down.

"Well, it has to do with Itachi and the family secret," was all she could say, and that was enough for the matriarch to explode after a brief second passed.

 _"HANARU UZUMAKI!"_ Tsunade screamed, making both their eardrums ring and the poor feline yowl before jumping out of Naruto's arms, his tail poofing out. She would have giggled if not for the fact she was facing Grandma's full-fledged fury. _"You let a very important family secret out! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"_

"It was a fluke!" she insisted, trying not to cry. "Itachi never found it before because I DID hide it well! He did it by accident without my knowledge!" In a breath, she spilled out the day's events with Naruto's help.

If Jiraiya was there, either he had common sense to stay out of this, or he just wasn't home at the moment. Tsunade exhaled sharply on her end, and both brother and sister could imagine her rubbing her temples, trying to calm down before she spoke again. _"Well, either way, we have a beyond-the-limits crisis on our hands. Are your friends still there?"_

Sasuke and the girls were in the sitting room, so that was the answer. And Itachi in his fluffy little glory remained where he was at her feet, on all fours and his poofy tail calming down back to its original sleek state. "I told them when the expiration date was...and Sasuke did take this worse," Hanaru answered, looking up at Naruto when he fought not to tear up with her. Itachi saw this and purred as he rubbed against Naruto and then over to her. Her bare skin shivered at the silky soft fur and warm skin touching her.

"How sooner can we join up with you so we can get to work? We got all week of spring break - but we have to think of an excuse to the world to explain Itachi's absence." _Sasuke is the genius at this when it comes to their family workplace - and oh, gods, what if Madara discovers his nephew is missing before he returns from his vacation?!_

~o~

What a hell of a day this was.

"You don't have to say so twice," Sakura grunted in the back of Naruto's beatup as the dobe drove them both back home right after Hinata was dropped off. Naruto didn't say much, which was unlikely for the chatty blond. But for once, Sasuke was glad there was little communication. _Enough for one day._

Until now.

"Good news, though," Naruto announced with a halfway smile. "Our grandparents come back by Sunday night, so on Monday we go to their place. Granny needs to gather the ingredients and such she needs, but if she does that this weekend, she would go into an all-out storm if we interfered with her and Pervy Sage's fun." Sasuke found himself cringing and sharing the same look with his wife.

 _Facing that old lady's anger? When my brother is a black ball of fluff waiting for bad luck to cross our paths? Just my luck._

And as for tomorrow when Itachi is supposed to be at work, he needed to think of a way to get his brother called in, but knowing how things worked, it would end up questionable because Itachi had not had a day's off in a long time for THAT long. If this got back to Madara, he would definitely raise an eyebrow for sure. But dear old uncle wouldn't know for two more weeks, in time for the full moon to pass.

He hoped Hanaru and her grandma would just be able to fix his _aniki_ so they could get back to their lives.

~o~

He had kissed Hinata goodbye before taking her first home so it left him with the _teme_ and Sakura, but nothing came of it. Maybe he should have let them off at their place first, but here in Konoha, everything was close to each other. The sun was splashed with color, but even that didn't make anyone smile.

 _Just our luck that Granny and Pervy Sage leave us for the weekend, taking a couple days' time off - but keep calm, hope isn't lost. The old lady never lets down._

What he did NOT go far to think about was that his sister should have hid the treasure someplace besides beneath the bed. Hanaru wasn't perfect, but she never meant anything either. He'd goofed more than once, but she was not compared to him. But what had been done had been done, and it needed to be fixed. She was going to be alone tonight - except with Itachi in kitty form - and Naruto did not plan to be alone at their grandparents' for the weekend. She also didn't work on weekends, and neither did Hinata.

Sasuke was already going forth, not bothering to wait for his wife. Sakura watched him go with a sharp exhale before turning her attention back to Naruto. He cringed at the immense sadness in her vibrant verdant irises. "I'm sorry how it went today, Sakura," he started, but he was at a loss.

She shook her head. "No one is to blame, Naruto. I don't care if Hanaru is blamed, but she isn't." She looked down at the gravel in front of them both. "Oh, man..." She stopped herself then and there, closing her eyes.

"I didn't think something like this would happen. I shouldn't analyze this like science...and this is my best friend - your _sister_ \- and Itachi..."

Naruto nodded. He found himself glaring at the direction Sasuke had gone. "He's still being an ass," he told her. He folded his arms across his chest. "I never thought I'd say this, but..."

 _I feel sorry you had to marry that bastard now. I don't know why or how you put up with him. He still can't get over his big brother issues. Even if Itachi is a fluffball right now, Sasuke doesn't seem as worried as Hana-chan and I are, or you and Hinata. Just seems...I can't even figure it out. What is he scared of, losing one more close link to his parents?_

Sakura shook her head. "You don't have to finish it." She sighed again. "I love him, but I sometimes wonder why myself. What happened was a long time ago, and I guess you'd have thought he'd begin to see that...but I wonder if he really does care if his brother's life is in trouble. All he seems to care about is whether or not he's low compared to Itachi, and if he loses him, he might just hear about it forever." Now her tone and her face hardened at the same time, a small vein appearing in her forehead. "I'll have to have a word with him while we get to work on this."

And since there was two weeks until the full moon, that also meant how they were going to handle life after Spring Break. He decided he would leave the details of Itachi's absence to Duck Butt up there waiting for his wife. He nodded and bade Sakura goodnight before getting back into his car so he could get back to _nee-chan_ and her feline fiancée.

She lay back on the sofa, with the cat at her feet, curled up and passed out, tail wrapped around his form. The sight would have looked so normal with being cute and all - and it _was_ \- if only the reality wasn't that the animal was really the man she was supposed to marry in a few months. _And going to be my brother-in-law - and now he's a cute little kitten._ Well, technically cat, since he was full-grown, but small nonetheless.

Hanaru's eyes were red, her cheeks flushed, but the tears long since dried. She had the textbook of the guarded animal souls and the demons. Naruto found himself at the head of the sofa, where her head was, and saw it was both pages of the two different feline creatures, making him exhale sharply. Both those bastards - who knew which one Itachi would turn into if they expired by the full moon's end.

 _All he needs to turn back is being placed beneath the moonlight, just like those movies and stories we grew up with. But if it doesn't work in real life, my sister will go down, and he'll end up being -_

Everyone's train of thought had gone dark enough today - who knew the extent of Sasuke's at the moment, and Naruto wouldn't be surprised if Sakura was in a heated argument with him at the moment. All of them were in on this now, and who knew what Hinata was up to. He intended to call her later to check up. But right now, his sister needed him.

A fresh tear rolled down her cheek, and she swallowed a choke. "I have a feeling it was this one," she gasped, struggling not to drop the book as she turned it all the way to face him. There rested the one-tailed feline with the napkin on its head as it danced gleefully, and on the opposite page was its double-tailed similarity. Beneath the former was the text in their ancient tongue.

 **月が高くなると**

 **片方の尾は嘘ではない**

 **そして、夜明けに踊る**

 **戦いに勝つ**

 **月が落ちるとき**

 **永遠の呼び出し**

 **ノーリターンのポイント**

Oh, yeah he could hear Itachi whispering this aloud to himself, unaware of the fate awaiting him:

 _When the moon reaches high_

 _The one-tail does not lie_

 _And shall dance to the dawn_

 _To the battle be won_

 _When the moon falls_

 _Eternity calls_

 _To the point of no return_

Morbid to think about, wasn't it?

Naruto took the book from her and closed it gently. Some smoke particles entered the air in visible sight; what did you expect when it was so old and had been in the family for centuries? "I think we should not think about this. Today has taken too much out of us," he added softly when he looked at the curled up ball of black against her bare calf, the side steadily rising up and down with each breath he took. He could imagine what Itachi was thinking right now.

Hanaru's lips quivered, but she refused to look up at him. He knew what she was thinking about, and their grandmother wouldn't let this matter go so easily even though she agreed to help them and Itachi who lay curled up asleep before them. Now Itachi awoke at the feel of his fiancée sitting up and falling into the arms of her younger brother, breaking out into heavy weeps and blubbering sobs. He mewed in despair, standing and walking over to them, crawling into her lap and getting a scratch behind his ears and on his back. He purred now and rubbed himself between them.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed Itachi in his kitty form wouldn't be so bad compared to the human - but it might not be enough compared to how his _aneki_ had been living with her husband-to-be. He was a little worried with how she might be living for the next couple weeks without the love of her man in the way he'd given her...or maybe loving this little kitty could make up for any tension.

~o~

Her brother was sleeping on the couch that night. She was laying in the bathtub with a few of the scented pink bath roses calming her senses and moistening her pores, her hair pinned behind her head. Naruto must have gotten hungry for more ramen, for she heard the noise in the kitchen on the other side of one of the walls. _I wonder if Itachi is giving him a hard time._ She giggled a little as she tried to imagine her kitty hubby trying to trip Naruto, or maybe _otouto_ was also feeding the hungry cat some more.

You know how far she came to add a certain vulgar word in place of "cat", but after "hungry"? It was so hard to not laugh.

When she stood up, she flinched when she felt a certain clench in her lower abdomen, followed by a small pain which could mean one thing, and she remembered to check her calendar as soon as she was out of here. Hanaru unplugged the tub and tossed what was left of the used florals into the trash can. She grabbed the towel and dried off, and because the fabric was white, she saw the red stain after drying herself between the legs.

 _Blood._ Damn it, she should have grabbed a pad sooner.

When she dried off and was just slipping into her red silk sleeping set, she was slipping in the needed feminine equipment when there was soft scraping at the door. Naruto wouldn't do that, so that meant... "Oh, hi, Itachi." Wasn't it weird to almost baby talk to an animal who was really your fiancée or what? He blinked up at her before slipping past her and making way for - "Oh, you need the toilet." She felt her cheeks burn and quickly skedaddled away as she heard little ruts against porcelain. Itachi might be a kitty, but he was still a human being and needed his privacy.

"Hana-chan, what was that about?" There was baby brother himself at the island with his bowl of ramen as foreseen, slurping loudly. His manners still hadn't changed a bit. Imagine how Hiashi Hyuuga would take it if he invited his eldest daughter's boyfriend over for dinner should Naruto decide to propose to Hinata in the future.

"Itachi...had to use the toilet as soon as I was done," Hanaru answered, cheeks burning still as she went to the fridge and took out the almost empty jug of tea. She planned to make more anyway. Anything to pass the time.

Naruto's face seemed a brighter shade than she was. "Well..." he said, hesitating, "at least you don't have to worry about what cats normally do. He's still a human if in this form now; he knows how to use...what we do." He was stuttering, looking down at his half-finished bowl of ramen before pushing it ahead. "I've lost my appetite just thinking about it."

Hanaru swallowed and nodded, dumping the amber fluid into two mugs before putting them both into the microwave. She decided not to tell him about her problem now which would go on for the next five days. Two more days of this torture would mean hormonal outbursts, mood swings and cramps that would go on tomorrow. In the background was the faint sound of a flush of water, knowing what it was. She and Naruto both winced and looked at each other. Two more weeks of this.

And on cue, there stood the cute little black thing, with a hilarious but stunning oddity: there was...a bit of toilet paper stuck on his rear end. Oh, gods, that was something she was on the verge of dying from. She was so close to calling this her own pet rather than her husband-to-be.

"Okay!" Naruto jumped up with both hands in the air, the chair he'd sat in screeching backwards. "I'm not touching that thing, Hana-nee. He's your cat." She glared at him with a huff.

 _Well, what the hell now? He's a kitty now, and I am the owner. He's my responsibility now._ With that, she marched over to pick up Itachi beneath his sleek, soft belly and plucked out the mildly repulsive thing that he feebly attempted on his furry self. "Cats don't use that, and now you know," she told him, biting the inside of her cheek, taking them both back into the bathroom. She set him on the counter, and he watched as she disposed of the thin particle. "One less trouble for me to worry about." She looked up at him with narrowed eyes which he returned, but instead, he made the habit of licking his lips before bringing his paw to his mouth. The sight was so cute and innocent - and not so at the same time.

"What am I going to do with you until we change you back?" Hanaru asked, reaching out and rubbing his back, which made him arch and mewl with pleasure. His tail brushed against her wrist, tickling her pulse.

 **Kitty Itachi and the toilet - just like "Curse of the Cat", only unlike Sasuke being there and having Naruto on the phone rather than present, this time is poor fiancée Hana-chan and her brother witnessing. XD As well as what we all saw the adorable KITACHIN (my man's words) bearing on a...ahem, certain part. Like Hanaru said, two more weeks of this, but let's see how it goes until Grandma Tsunade returns, and the real adventure begins.**


	9. Heat

**Turns out all is well now for my part. :D**

 **I had gotten more information on wiki regarding the** _ **bakeneko**_ **beast from Japanese myth, so what is seen will be what I found to tie enough in with Itachi's predicament. Enjoy.**

Chapter Nine

Heat

Sasuke was frustrated beyond belief. He'd needed a drink and began to make himself one with the whiskey and his favorite soda when he heard the door slam, telling him his wife had followed up finally. She'd been down in the lot for some time, talking to Naruto, what else? The mere sound and the shaking of everything in the room made him look up at her and wish he didn't. But he wasn't scared of her; the look in her eye told him she was going to have a one-on-one over today.

Her face was red, making her emeralds pop, and the vein stuck out in her forehead, which was a major warning to any who dared to cross her. "What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, taking another gulp before, in a flash, the glass was snatched from him and thrown into the wall, shattering into trillions of pieces. "Excuse me, Sakura!" He jumped backwards by one, keeping a safe distance from her as she raged on at him, her eyes turning into comical white balls, her face getting redder and the vein becoming more prominent.

"What's wrong with ME?!" she seethed. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH _YOU_ , SASUKE?! YOU'RE ACTING LIKE THE BASTARD NARUTO SAYS YOU ARE - CHOOSING TO CARE MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO THAN HELPING YOUR BEST FRIEND TURN YOUR BROTHER BACK TO NORMAL!"

He resisted the urge to groan. "Sakura, we have two weeks, and I really DO hope that Hanaru and her _baa-chan_ can fix my brother back into the bastard he was!" he said, walking past her to pick up the broom and dust pan himself. The least he could only do at the moment. Anything leftover he would use the vacuum on. "I just don't know how to handle this."

"That's just it! You never know what to do but mope and stand by because oh 'boo-hoo', big brother has all the attention on him, and I got a newsflash: I put up with it when we were kids up to now. You always talked about getting back at him for him not showing up at our wedding. It was _two years ago!_ You haven't changed at all when he ASKED you to be HIS best man, and don't lie to me when I say you aren't planning to give him a taste of his own medicine, Sasuke Uchiha," she growled, going up and sticking her finger into his face. She dropped her hand then and there, shaking her head and snorting.

"Just look at yourself. This man I married - right now, I don't know how to deal with you now that your own brother is now a cute little kitty cat -" Her eyes flashed with cuteness overload if her face remained tight and red with fury. "- but you don't seem concerned if something happens to him, only what would happen if you lost him...and it's far from missing him the way his fiancée would miss him, or even your uncles and every friend he has. Even if you do miss him, you're too damned proud to admit and realize it. I'm SICK of this." She flicked her rosette hair behind her ears before turning halfway from him in a huff. "Let that torment your cracked up head while you sleep on the couch tonight."

Sasuke gaped at her in shock. She - his wife - she _made him sleep on the couch!_ He sputtered in shock, too stricken to say something proper, but she was already heading into their bedroom and slamming the door. Leaving him in numbing dismay.

 _Well...there goes my life._

He did end up sleeping on the couch, his body in an out-of-it sensation, like he wasn't made to be there. In the end, said body felt stiff like a corpse. As a result, he didn't sleep well and woke up early enough to phone the company, disguising himself as Itachi the best he could - and calling from his own phone to get a hold of Uncle Izuna at the counter rather than mobile - faking coughs and gagging himself with his breakfast rice ball and tomatoes for an additional effect. _I just hope he buys it..._

The story was this: his "brother" had the flu, in which he'd awoken with a stuffy nose, felt nauseous, and hadn't slept well during the night. He had no idea how long it would last, so he kindly asked Izuna to take over until he was well again.

Sasuke was relieved, but he hoped his uncle bought it - though he DID hear the suspicion in the elder's voice when he asked if he was really okay, and with good reason: _when was the last time Itachi was_ ever _sick?_

His brother almost never called in sick, not since he began working in high school, and then in adulthood, he sucked it up for the sake of appearances, appeared perfect in all and name.

When Sakura joined him in the morning just as he finished, she had the amused twinkle in her eyes, but the tension was still there. He sighed and turned his back to her, saying nothing. Last night really made him feel like he didn't deserve to be around her if he didn't feel a part of the trap Itachi got himself in. He picked up his mug of black coffee and sipped without a word. She went over to pick up her favorite printed with pink and red blossoms, still in her hoodie set.

She was smiling, but it was forced, and he knew it. There was very little spoken between them that morning. The best to do now was wait for Hanaru and Naruto on what next...

~o~

 _Great start to spring break,_ Hanaru thought sarcastically when she awoke Saturday morning. Day off and not a good start. Her lower body ached, for one, and knowing how the next two weeks could go. She wanted everyone over again...but at the same time, because of one certain Duck Ass, she wasn't sure. To invite Sakura only would not bode well; it would make things worse.

She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the soft gray light over the ceiling, coming in through the window. It was not even nine, and she needed to use the bathroom first. But before she did, she came to the realization that there was a warm lump in her side, beneath the covers. Lifting the soft bamboo-printed, white-and-red quilt, she smiled at the curled up ball of silky black fur nuzzled against her, tail wrapped around his body. She giggled and resisted reaching to pet Itachi in his sleep. She just didn't want to disturb him, but any movement would do so, because all animals sleeping with their owners were sensitive to all movement.

 _How can you be so cute in your kitty form?_

Hanaru decided that THIS Itachi was much softer than the one before, though she did miss that other one. But it also meant she could cuddle the kitty all she wanted, but first - "Oh, God, excuse me." She quietly slid out for her business before returning back and snuggling back with the little cat that was really her fiancée.

Naruto was probably still passed out at this time, which gave her more time to hold onto Itachi while he slept - but as soon as she turned her full front in his direction and pulled him closer, he stirred and stretched before squirming out of her arms and coming out from the head of the covers, standing on his empty side of the bed and staring hard at her, his tail flicking and standing high. The look in his eyes asked her: _what, are you going to smother me just because I'm a cat now?_

"Oh, don't give me that look. Can I help it if you're...cuter than your old self?" He mewled before turning his back to her. She felt her shoulders slump. "Okay, now you don't want to talk to me." She paused then and there, laying back and staring at him. The pain in her lower belly lessened a little, but a soak in the tub would help like last night. A sudden thought crossed her mind that she asked him aloud: "Do you...hate me, Itachi?"

Stupid she was, talking to her man when he couldn't communicate in his cat form; at least, not in normal words. His tail stopped swishing, and he turned his head around to regard her, nose wiggling as if he'd smelled something. His way of asking "What?"

"Because...look at you. I was so stupid, and because of that..." She turned her face into the pillow, unable to look at him or even feel like it. Then she felt little weight as he crossed over to her and laid down on his belly with his paws beneath his head, watching her for a moment before leaning over and licking her cheek with his rough tongue. Her arm moved on its own before she wrapped it around him.

"If THAT happens to you -" Hanaru rolled onto her back, letting him crawl on top and lay on her warm chest. "- I'm never going to forgive myself."

 _Because if he turns into that beast in the text, it's all on me until the day I die._

Itachi purred and nuzzled against her, then mewed a little as he sensed her distress, as if to try and reassure her like he always did whenever she had a bad moment; he also often came home pissed after a disagreement with Sasuke, and she'd do the same for him, like this. Then she found herself looking up at the picture on her bedside table, at the picture frame in smooth gray-blue wood the tone of the stormy ocean.

Their first date.

Hanaru smiled and reached up to pick up the picture, holding it before them both. "Hadn't brought this up in a while. Remember?" Itachi raised his head up and sniffed before meowing once, nodding with brusque perks, making her laugh and put the memento back in place. "That was the best day ever, first before the day I first called you for help." She flushed when she remembered checking out his good looks like a stupid schoolgirl again, but then he HAD to ask her out when she went to grab her new music selection - which turned out to be _their shared._

Itachi looked at her. Though as a cat, he was hard to read, but his manner of communication was so cute and loving, and he couldn't get away if he wanted to - not in this position anyway. Hanaru continued to rub his back and the underside of his belly for awhile longer before deciding it was time to get up.

Naruto - he just had to make himself ramen at this time AGAIN. She sighed and put Itachi down so he could walk over and jump onto the island, glaring at the young man who raised both eyebrows. Slurping, he asked the cat, "What, Itachi? I can if I want to!"

"Nope, you need something nutritious," Hanaru stated, pushing her ponytail behind her head, getting the pans out for her special egg and rice dish. The leftover grilled fish was still in the fridge. "You can put that in the refrigerator for lunch later."

"But _nee-chan_ -!"

She whirled around, messy ponytail lashing out. "I will make no excuses, _otouto_. You need big sister's cooking as long as you stay here in MY roof." _Actually, it's me and Itachi's roof, but now I am in sole command as long as my future hubby is a feline._

Itachi plopped himself down on all fours on the island, meowing with appraisal while Naruto blushed furiously. "Hey, your man here is a cat now, and he still gets a say against me?!" he protested, making her laugh as she took the bowl of ramen from him.

"He's only secondary now, but he still gets the say, yes."

She went back to frying the eggs in the oil on the pan, and stirred the rice up to add to what had also been leftover. When she rummaged through the fridge, she felt her smile fade when she saw what remained of what Sakura and Sasuke brought yesterday. Thinking about the _teme_ , she slumped in the shoulders yet again. Naruto noticed this. "Sis? You thinking about HIM again?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, he'll do us all a favor. When we get to work on fixing Itachi, he'll have to keep his head out of his ass." _Easier said than done, and you know that._

She hadn't expected company at this time of morning, so she was startled, as was Naruto, and poor Itachi once again got a poofy tail, but Naruto stood up and went to answer. She heard it all and smiled when it was only Hinata. The Hyuuga had her hair in a ponytail, and her dress was deep purple with lighter shaded butterflies, but her face was grim.

"H-Hana-chan, Naruto," she whispered, stuttering and holding out something she'd carried in her arms - two or three books on their nation's ancient history and mythos. The blonde woman swallowed, looking first at her brother and then back to the black cat still on the counter, sniffing the air. He mewped a couple times. Hinata blushed. "I found more on the...cat creatures, only I don't know which one he is..."

"I do," Hanaru answered, taking one of the books from the top and leading the way into the kitchen. "Better us getting a head start rather than waiting for Grandma Tsunade. We'll spend the entire week if we have to."

Naruto slumped back into his seat, right after his girlfriend took her place. Itachi went over to Hinata and purred at her. She giggled and stroked him along the back. "Yeah, but Hana-nee? This can't be all work. We will get him back, but all this time will simply just drive to insanity. We know so much about this supernatural beasts, and who knows, we'll find some surprise answers along the way." Hanaru turned back to him from the stove and smiled. This was why she loved her brother being involved: whereas she sometimes got stuck and mad, he was bright and optimistic. Itachi could use that for himself.

~o~

So, the weekend was...interesting. Hinata came by that Saturday with the books on the various demons, but sadly, there wasn't much of anything new. What would they expect? Very few were capable of expanding beyond these texts that existed before any of them were born.

According to the legends, the average housecat could live for thirteen years at most...before the abnormal changes begin to take place, in which it naturally obtained great power and increased from its normal size. However, there were too few to remain in the good role they once lived, for depending on their owner, they could harbor intense hate and rage to exact vengeance - that included death of the master and changing into that form for pretense and survival.

If you were lucky to detect fraud, you would detect the negative behavior that was never before seen. Even a psychic or a sensitive average human being would also detect the strangeness in the air around.

Naruto's stomach dropped.

Hinata broke out into a sweat and refrained from biting any of her well-manicured nails.

Hanaru held onto Itachi as he mewled at the story being read.

These fiends - these _bakeneko_ \- had their habits of hunting human beings for FOOD, and sometimes when they chose not to kill their owners, their powers were specialized in eternal torture, and drastically even, dead loved ones could be brought back and used against them. _My god, the cruelest of tricks in nature for superiority. They might be pleased in return, but it would have nothing to do with love..._

 _...and just what Itachi could become one day if he's trapped forever._

Hinata closed the book and swallowed. "I feel like...I'm going to vomit," she announced, throwing an apologetic glance to Hanaru. "I'm...so sorry, Hinata. I wanted to do some reading, so I had gone to the library as soon as it opened, and I found these. I thought they would help...but there's very little to turn the cat back into a human."

Naruto found himself taking the book and looking over the page, sighing. What she tried looking for was a secret the Uzumaki, Senju and all in-laws to blood relation possessed, and Granny Tsunade knew what and how to make what would turn Itachi back into a man. What the public didn't know would NOT have it for all to see. This was covered up for several obvious reasons. After the last human-turned-animal incident during the middle of the fifteenth century, the guardianship had to be as discreet as possible.

"Well," Hanaru spoke after a long moment, taking a few breaths, "since we have this down, I guess this means we just have to do what we do best until Grandma gets back to us. Any suggestions?" She looked back and forth between them, with the cat in her arms now and resting his head against her chest.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other before a smile broke out on their faces as one good idea came to mind that involved all four of them.

He'd been to the lake of red blossoms a couple times; it was where Itachi took _nee-chan_ on their first date, and it would also be where they would marry in a few months. Naruto felt like his breath had been blown away when the four of them - himself, his sister and beautiful girlfriend as well as the cat himself - arrived with a picnic made up. This was a damned good decision to make so the kitty couldn't be couped up in the house alone, or for Hana-chan to feel the same.

He made the mental note to himself that he should one day bring Hinata back here, then drop down on one knee and ask for HER hand in marriage. Even if Hiashi Hyuuga would stand on giving his blessing and permission.


	10. Double the Drama

**Good God, I am RELIEVED "Timeless" is finished, and soon I will begin a new fic, but right now this one needs my attention once more. ;)**

Chapter Ten

Double the Drama

Hanaru thought she would go insane this weekend, but spending it with her brother, Hinata and her kitty fiancée at the very same lake of red water blossoms where Itachi took her on their first date and where they would be getting married. _However..._ She sighed to herself and laid back against the grass, a few feet away from the picnic set up beneath the tree by Naruto and Hinata, letting the sun bathe her and enjoy the heat...

...and the sight of the cute little black cat mewling and leaping about as he enjoyed the scenery, her company, and this place he loved bringing her.

The sight made her roll on her side and face him, turning her back to her brother and his girlfriend as they held onto each other and rested against the tree trunk. But all she could see and acknowledge was the leaping black fluff that danced with joy in this spot which held a place in his heart - _and in mine._

For the time being, Hanaru forgot about recent troubles and allowed herself to die inside as she watched Itachi roll in the grass, pawing at the air at a butterfly coming his way. If the truth didn't exist, she'd have seen him as her own little pet playing around like an ordinary housecat. "Itachi, you're really cute the way you are, you know," she said, reaching over and gently scratching his soft, sleek belly, making him purr the motor. She was right; he really WAS cute with those noises, and those big bug eyes he was giving her now.

Itachi's eyes closed, then he meowed once again, his forepaws coming to wrap around her hand, and then he began to kick at her with his adorable feet. She sighed sadly when she knew he couldn't talk to her in this form; she just wanted to ask him the simple question if he was having fun being a cat - though she knew certain things he was restricted from, and that made her all the more determined to get him back to the way he was before. Hanaru's gaze traveled over him and at the expanse of thousands, maybe millions, of red lotuses glinting like rubies - or maybe the whole image was a real painting they were living in. It was more perfect than any storybook fantasy as she'd told him the night of their first date a year ago.

Hanaru rolled onto her back, spreading her legs out in relaxation, and Itachi jumped onto her stomach, purring as he laid down and looked her over intently.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of her ringtone - one about a water lily pond by one of her favored composers - made her look up, tilting her head back and upside down, frowning. Who could it be? _Grandma Tsunade? Sakura? Or -?_

Hinata was the one closest to her handbag, pulling it out from the outside pocket. Her eyes widened a little. "It's Sakura," she said. "Can I answer for you?" She saw that her best friend was "busy", so Hanaru nodded.

 _She might be calling to apologize for Sasuke if the bastard is still so thick-headed he won't do it himself. Sasuke hardly apologizes on his own. And he'd called his brother a coward; he's no better than Itachi then, if that's the case._

She, Itachi and Naruto watched Hinata answered the mobile to see what Sakura wanted - and speakerphone she had been placed on for all of them to listen. "Sakura, what a surprise," the Hyuuga said pleasantly. "We're all out for the day at the lake."

 _"I'm jealous. And here I am at home while Sasuke is out for the moment. He's probably meeting up with some of his other friends to try and take his mind off of things,"_ Sakura said bitterly on the other end. _"We barely said three words to each other this morning. I got tired of it and told him if he wanted to just pretend nothing was wrong, he should just get out of the house for awhile. I think he's at Akimichi's Bar."_ She snorted. Hanaru gripped the grass beneath her hands, gathering as much as she could into fists. Itachi hissed and jumped off of her as she sat up, but he was mad as she was. Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he growled in his throat. Sasuke had gone out of his own house, away from his wife and the rest of them, to get drunk and not think about his problems which were also THEIRS.

"Well," Hanaru spoke up finally, "who's the coward now?"

"Just like _teme_ to be an even bigger idiot than I am," her brother grumbled. Itachi meowed and pranced over to sit between him and Hinata, pawing at the mobile without knocking it out of her hand.

 _"I'm not going to be stupid and just let him get away with this. God knows he's not that bad to just get back on his motorcycle to end up in an accident afterwards. I'm not going to take any chances; will you guys come and help me get him home before it DOES happen?"_

Oh, she was only happy to oblige, even if it meant to cut their fun time short.

 _You just HAD to bring more trouble, Sasuke._

~o~

 _Teme_ stayed in the apartment he shared with his wife for the rest of the weekend after he and the others took off from the lake and headed towards Akimichi's - _what trouble are you going to give us now?_

He was behind the wheel in his beatup, and his girlfriend beside him as well as _nee-chan_ and Itachi currently with Sakura in her Porsche. The rose-haired woman's fury could match the late Kushina Uzumaki and Tsunade; she even swore in their tongue before declaring that if her husband wasn't that wasted, she would give him a pounding worse than she gave Naruto when they were children. He shuddered and couldn't stop from breaking out into a sweat which Hinata dabbed from his forehead and neck with tissues from her handbag.

"Try not to get us wrecked, Naru-kun?" she asked with a half-smile.

He laughed nervously. "You don't have to remind me."

The Akimichi family barbeque - where Sasuke would once or twice a month pick up Thursday specials for himself and Sakura - wasn't that far away, but this town wasn't even large no matter if it seemed that way to residents within. It was Saturday, so it wasn't a surprise during the day that it was almost packed. Sakura's Porsche screeched before his dad's old vehicle could get into its place to follow. She stormed out, but took care to not slam her sensitive car door, and Hanaru followed with Itachi in her arms - but she stopped when all five of them were outside the doors. _Five including the kitty._

"I'm staying out here," she announced, the cat mewing in agreement and nuzzling against her chest. "No animals allowed." She nodded in the direction of the white dog the size of a bulldog leashed to the side of the door. The group recognized Akamaru, Kiba's white beast. The dog barked when he recognized them. Blushing, Hinata went over and stroked his head, and he licked at her wrist. "Oh, hello, Akamaru," Hanaru said kindly, but stayed where she was because at the sight of the big canine, Itachi bared his teeth and hissed, deeply burying himself into his fiancée's body. She quickly stepped away; his cat instincts overtook human in that moment, it turned out. Naruto winced at the sight and at Akamaru's brief growls.

"Guys, we'd better get inside and get Sasuke quick," he announced. "Sakura, you and I are in, and Hinata, you stay with my sister and make sure the dog doesn't eat the cat."

 _Kiba better had trained his mutt well to not eat the kitty - oh, boy, how close I was to make a sex joke out of that._

The sooner he and Sakura were inside, they were greeted with a shocking and hilarious sight of a certain duck-haired Uchiha on the small stage, holding a microphone to his face, and _singing._ He gawked with wide eyes, unaware that his own drool was leaking out; Sakura's face turned so red she could be mistaken as a devil.

Sasuke Uchiha - his best friend, Hanaru's eventual brother-in-law, and Sakura's _husband_ \- was singing _I Want You to Want Me_ on the karaoke machine. And by the sound of it, he'd had two or three shots to get loosened up. He was surrounded by ALL of their friends from childhood up to now. Choji and his father were passing out the alcohol to the guests of honor while one of their favored star Uchihas was on the stage making a fool of himself. He didn't even look around and see both his wife and best friend standing at the front door!

"Oh, he's going to face this now," Sakura growled, showing her fist before joining it with her palm and cracking her knuckles.

Naruto was more than happy to agree, and he did one sure thing. At the last minute, he decided to step up and run up to the stage, pushing past everyone around him until he was in front of the bastard who glared murderously at being interrupted. The music was off so all attention was on the interesting confrontation that was coming.

"Dobe, what the hell are you doing?!"

"What do you think I am doing, _teme_?" he returned. "Your wife is with me right now, and you think to go and get drunk then make a fool of yourself?!"

Sasuke shoved him back, palm against his chest. "Who's the bigger fool? The fool on stage, or the fool coming up here on his own uninvited?" he spat, before his attention shifted towards his raging wife, storming up to stand beside their best friend.

"Sasuke Uchiha, this is going far enough. You're coming home this instant!"

Furious, he put the microphone back into its stand before facing them both. "I'm a grown ass man, Sakura! Just because I am your husband does not mean you order me around like a child!" His retort earned a good blow to the face that echoed off the walls like a punch to a boxing bag. Gasps and exclamations erupted from those around them. Some blinked, others not, and half of them found the scene amusing.

It was then and there that Hanaru stepped in. She didn't have Itachi in her arms; she'd left him with Hinata who watched with worry from the other side of the main entrance. Naruto gulped at the cool disgust that seemed more scary than red-faced Sakura Uchiha.

"Sasuke, if Itachi were here, he would say what a disgrace to the family you are," she called over the hushed whispers that began - and that was enough to smack a bang to the core.

~o~

He had more than just a late night headache and another trip on the couch after he passed out in the car from the heaviness in his system. He had a high tolerance, but the weight of the weekend's events took their toll - and worsened when his wife, best friend and future sister-in-law came to collect him in front of all their friends who watched AND heard everything.

He might have been drunk off of himself after a few shots, his head beginning to spin, but Kiba and the others got him into the spirit that day - "Youthful energy and start of spring break!" were the words of Rock Lee - before he got pushed onto the stage for karaoke. Choji and his father were readying the weekend special after the singing was finished by his part. How long had it been since Sasuke Uchiha had _this_ much fun? He'd picked this song choice because it was what _Sakura_ had courageously gotten up to this very same place when they were all still in high school...and that was when he fell flat for her spritely singing voice as she "told" him how much she wanted him to love her as much as she did...

So to experience her wrath when she and Naruto come up to him and beat him in front of all those they knew their entire lives? And when he was here just to forget his problems for awhile? He knew it had been a stupid move, but it had to be done.

Sasuke didn't remember anything else other than getting another smack by his wife, and he did pass out then and there. But before that...

 _"Sasuke, if Itachi were here, he would say what a disgrace to the family you are..."_

There were no words to describe the hollow pain in his heart and stomach when he awoke tossed on his own couch, staring up at the ceiling and then turning his head to the side to see the glass of water and Advil left - and the note in Sakura's hand. He cringed at the text written aggressively. If he thought that he'd get off with slack, he'd been mistaken.

 _I'm staying with Hanaru and Naruto. If you want to earn our respect and trust back, you'd better start thinking about your behavior._

His skin burned, telling him a tear had fallen. Sasuke hadn't cried since he was a child, since he wailed in his big brother's arms when their parents were murdered...and after that...

 _Naruto and Hanaru have called me a_ teme _for years, then she did._

 _I care more about myself than my brother. Itachi must have known that, but I never got it from him out of all the things he'd told me. He's a bastard himself for leaving me the day of my wedding - and he wasn't even happy for me when I decided I wanted to go ahead with Sakura. She'd wanted this with me, so that was enough. I don't regret it at all..._

But those hateful words about him trying to get back at Itachi since then came hitting him in the face right after he downed down the painkiller and water. And it was not even two years ago... _"and you haven't changed at all when he asked YOU to be his best man, and don't lie to me when I say you aren't planning to give him a taste of his own medicine, Sasuke Uchiha!"_

Right, and as she said, his brother was a cat now, which had been an accident. Sighing sharply, Sasuke leaned back against the sofa and stared ahead. The day was drawing to a close now. He didn't have to be at work until Monday. He'd handled with getting Izuna to believe "Itachi" was going to be out for awhile. _Looks like I am stuck alone for tomorrow,_ he thought glumly. _To think about how Uncle will handle that. He and_ aniki _were always so close, always joking - well, Izuna was the one to take the first step._ The youngest Uchiha sighed, his stomach dropping. He'd said he didn't know how to deal with everything now; Sakura was right. He never did. He just closed it off and sulked.

 _"You don't seem concerned if something happens to him, only what would happen if you lost him...and it's far from missing him the way his fiancée would miss him, or even your uncles and every friend he has. Even if you do miss him, you're too damned proud to admit and realize it."_

Sasuke hadn't realized he'd been crying until he opened his eyes again and sniffed, then noticed how his shirt had been darkened with some spots, and his cheeks felt sodden. Was this what...guilt felt like?

 _Why should I feel guilty? Itachi didn't pay attention to me after we lost our parents, he's gotten so much better than me, he left me alone on the best day of my life and later has the nerve to ask ME to be the best man he never was - and even now as a cat under a spell, he's still getting attention!_

With that in mind, Sasuke furiously downed down the last of the water, but refrained from throwing it across the room and into the wall. He'd already cleaned up enough broken glass as it was.

~o~

Grandma Tsunade called Sunday and said she and Jiraiya had returned, but she would come and meet her grandkids together tomorrow.

"Well, good news," Naruto said cheerily when the call was over, that Sunday when the four of them, Itachi in her lap, and Sakura was at the stove for them all, "and soon you'll be back to normal, Itachi." He reached over to scratch the cat behind his ears. He purred and closed his eyes in response. His motor increased deeply when Hanaru scratched his belly beneath. He stretched out then and nuzzled his head against her.

"We still have less than two weeks," Sakura reminded them, making him roll his eyes, before she added bitterly, "That also gives plenty of time to crack that hard head of the bastard I have for a husband."

Since yesterday, she'd stayed with the three of them because she was tired of being in the same house with the thick-headed _teme_ who had to cause more trouble for all of them. _Serves him right,_ Naruto thought as he drank down the milk his sister had gotten that morning. Sakura was making dumplings for them all at the moment, just to savor a sweet tooth addiction for the day - but poor Itachi who loved these things, and Hanaru had to tear a ball into bits for him to enjoy off the little square dish in front of him. The little black feline with his tail regally in the air as he indulged in pieces of his favorite treat in front of them all was something to die for.

Hinata was unable to make it today due to the fact her cousin Neji had suddenly been in an accident on the highway, on his way back from Tokyo for the week, and was now in critical condition. She'd gotten the call and all Hyuuga family members were to be present - Neji's closest friends, including the Uzumaki siblings, weren't allowed yet. He and his sister were crushed when they learned the news; they were supposed to be there, but from what Hinata phoned them about, her cousin who was settling a merger between the Hyuuga software business with one of the higher-ups of the capital had been struck out of nowhere when one of the trucks linking Konoha across one of the great rivers towards Tokyo had suffered an engine breakdown in the middle of the concrete, and Neji's Nisan wasn't the only one, for there were three others.

In short, no one knew if Neji would survive - or how much longer...

~o~

Neji Hyuuga was in the hospital. Hinata gave them an update that her cousin was in the ICU clinging to life, but barely - _he's in critical condition. I'm still saying prayers that he'd better make it._ Only the chance was fifty-fifty, which was scarier than a higher chance of none, because with an even balance, the unknown made it scarier. Neji was the son of Hinata's father's younger brother, and after his father passed, Neji lived under his uncle Hiashi's roof until becoming an important member of the family business of his own free will, proving himself a suitable heir to take over one day...but now _this_ happened.

If Neji died, the teenage Hanabi who had a big knack for these matters would take place, and her sister didn't have the necessary means because she was "too soft-hearted", like her late mother, which made both Hanaru and Naruto beyond furious.

And right now, for an obvious reason, Hanaru screamed in her mind: _YES, THE WEEKEND PASSED!_

Which meant today was Monday, and Granny was coming over here soon. She was in a blue turtleneck and jeans, hair curled by the iron and covering both ears, and her brother in his signature orange sweatshirt and faded jeans torn at the knees. Itachi stood at attention as all three of them waited on the sofa for the doorbell to ring.

"Remember, we are all together," her brother said, raising his thumbs up and beaming. "And as for you -" He winked down at Itachi who perked his head in his direction. "- what did we tell you?" The cat mewled once before laying his head down on Hanaru's lap, on the verge of passing out before he was startled along with both siblings when the doorbell rang. He jumped off Hanaru's lap and onto all fours on the floor.

She answered it, smiling at the sight of none other than her grandmother. Tsunade was really half past fifty, but she looked two decades younger than she was, and how she kept it that way was a damned good secret that even both her grandkids didn't know. Her light blonde hair was in two low pigtails, and she was remarkably well-endowed even if her bust was twice the average size in appearance. When she pulled her granddaughter into an embrace, Hanaru found herself almost smothered by those breasts before Naruto exploded with laughter. "Granny, don't kill her when you just got back home!" he said, laughing as he sauntered over and joined the group hug.

"Be glad I won't really kill both you brats over this, unlike your mother if she were here," Tsunade said seriously even though there was a joking undertone. The little meow directed her amber-hued attention down to the floor. "Let me guess..."

"Yep, Grandma, the cat is Itachi," Hanaru answered, kneeling down to pick him up and hold him. He stared up at the magnificent woman with blinking eyes and his tail partially wrapping around Hanaru's arm, silently asking Tsunade if she really could help change him back, which made her laugh.

"If I say yes, we're not going to waste anymore time. I've got a list made necessary for the _suiyaka_..."

 **My man was the one to suggest that Sasuke be singing "I Want You to Want Me" when he gets himself into more trouble than he is in. XD But alas, this drama sure is going too far. (sigh) Hope he pulls it together if he wants to change his brother back - and if he has anything left in him to rekindle their broken relationship. Time will tell until the upcoming full moon...**

 **Fun fact:** _ **Suiyaku**_ **is Japanese for "liquid medicine; potion".**


	11. Luau

**I don't suppose it'll come as a surprise to any of you that Sasuke is HARD to do in his broods and people trying to crack into him; ninja-verse with him vs Naruto in both original and then Shippuden is living proof of that. Even if any of us make him EASILY give in, it would be unwittingly making him OOC, which we can't afford. That's the dilemma here with his kitty brother and his outrageous attitude that has his wife and friends turned against him (for the time being).**

 **This drama has to end sooner or later before Itachi gets turned back into a human.**

Chapter Eleven

Luau

When he went in that morning, Uncle Izuna was in charge. This made things a bit... easier for Sasuke when he walked in with a smile on his face, albeit forced. When his uncle noticed as soon as he arrived at regular time, the usually cheerful and carefree older man frowned slightly. The Uchiha were prone to sensitivity.

"Nephew, has something happened?"

"Nothing that should concern you, Uncle," the younger replied coolly as he tied his apron behind his back, then turned on his equipment behind the counter.

Izuna raised an eyebrow. "Well, considering this is my nephew I am speaking to, it should concern me greatly. Your brother won't be in for a week or two at most, perhaps until Madara returns - are you the least bit concerned, Sasuke?"

There could be no way that he would know the truth, so Sasuke had to word this as carefully as possible and not give away any hints that he'd been the one to disguise himself as "sick Itachi". The bit about the lack of concern made him angry with mixed reasons. "Oh, yes, I'm _totally_ concerned." Opening time wasn't for another half hour, and he needed to just find some distraction. His wife still wasn't home, she wasn't working because her boss insisted she worked too hard at the emergency room and with her books, so she was staying with Hanaru, Naruto and Itachi, and that was the last he'd heard from her. He could have called her anytime over the weekend, but for all he knew, she wouldn't want to hear from him unless he "got his act together". "You know how it is with _aniki._ And besides, he's not alone. His wife-to-be is probably taking care of him now at the moment, before she goes off to work on her time."

"That's beside the point," his look-alike relative stated, equally cool. "This has gone on for eleven years, Sasuke. When are you and your brother going to start -" He had to suppress a groan. _This again._ "- patching it up? I understand all of this because I have an older brother myself, and believe me when I say Madara was just like you, only I was the one to turn it all around. Because you are a man now, I won't speak to you like a child again. But take it from me: one day you will lose Itachi and you don't see it coming. What will you do? Wallow in regret and self-loathing for the rest of your life? Shut off those around you...just like when your parents were taken from us. You shut yourself off from me, Madara, and of course, Itachi. Your big brother who promised he'd always be there." Wrinkles appeared between Izuna's brows as his frown increased.

"While both of them are gone, maybe I should insist you take the rest of the week off."

Sasuke froze. Was his uncle...? "But I just got here!"

"I mean, when the day is over, you can leave, and spend the rest of the week with your wife and friends." He raised an eyebrow then. "Unless you and Sakura...?" _Well, I guess no hiding it._ Sasuke sighed and shrugged.

"She's fed up. She is staying with Hanaru and Itachi, helping him out, because it's gone far enough." A half-truth, but it was enough for his uncle to lift his chin.

"Well, I agree with her. After today, I suggest you start thinking about how you've pushed away everyone trying to help you, including the one you used to love to death when you were boys. Maybe that's why Itachi left you at the altar; he wanted to teach you a lesson the hard way."

~o~

"You poor man," Tsunade cooed as she reached over to scratch the kitty along his back, and he arched into her touch, closing his eyes. His sassy little tail whipped out in random directions. She laughed heartily. "Too bad I wasn't alive to see the last person who went through what you did -" Her gaze and her tone hardened at the same time.

"- but we have to get you back before you become that THING." She nodded at the opened ancient tome which showed none other than his _bakeneko_ form, the two-tailed still opposite beside it. "We got until the full moon to do that, and we don't have enough time. Which is why I already have Shizune helping and gathering the ingredients here as well as in Tokyo for the _suiyaku_." She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully as if trying to think of how to word the next part carefully.

"It will take a week at most, but no more, to have it all ready in time."

 _One week..._

Hanaru closed her eyes and reached to take Itachi into her arms. He purred and nuzzled into her shoulder, his soft, warm breath making her shiver. She kissed him on the back of the head. "Assuming nothing happens in the week," she said to her grandmother, then added quickly at the flare in honey-hued eyes, " _Not_ that I am doubting you or Shizune."

Shizune had been Tsunade's apprentice when her grandmother had been in the medical field. She was also the niece of Tsunade's first boyfriend before she married Jiraiya. He'd been in the service for their country, before being brutally maimed and brought home in critical condition. Tsunade had nearly left her career and her life when she failed to save him, just like she'd also lost her younger brother Nawaki on the medical table. _So much had happened in Grandma's life - and then her own son, my father, had been slain along with his wife by one they tried to put away._

Since Tsunade retired a few years ago, Shizune had opened her own medicinal herb and remedy shop, and kept a private practice of her own. She didn't go into the hospital unless it was a major emergency.

In this case, it was a HELL of an emergency but without the involvement of the hospital.

"Oh, believe me, I have been thinking the same thing. A lot can happen in a week - but that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it," Tsunade reminded her, winking, then turned her attention to Naruto. "What's the update on how your friend the Duck is taking this?"

Naruto groaned and began to count off fingers. "Well, first of all, he quacks like he doesn't care his brother's a cat. Second, his wife is fed up now, not that we blame her. And third, he had to go out on Saturday to get drunk - like that would help!" He slammed that palm flat down on the coffee table surface; the sound that echoed would have made one guess the whole table cracked in half.

Tsunade shook her head, closing her hands in front of herself and leaned back. Itachi regarded her with a few lifts of the head up and down, mewing, before leaving Hanaru and going to sit in the older woman's lap. She laughed in her throat and scratched him under the chin, making him purr and close his eyes. Then she exhaled sharply. She'd been one of many to call Itachi Uchiha the "Ice Prince", and she DID threaten his manhood if he hurt her precious granddaughter, but getting to know him as a person, she really thought her granddaughter made an excellent choice after years of trial and error. There had even been a slight tinge of pink in Tsunade's cheeks that even made Jiraiya risk a punch to his jaw after he pointed out that the sexy Uchiha was their _granddaughter's_. _Oh, and let's not forget the time he thought to announce that he found inspiration for the male lead in his next book._

Speaking of book, if things turned out better in the end, she might as well start a new one of her own based on these events. Hanaru smiled for a second before turning back to serious.

The front door opened, right on time. "Oh, Tsunade-san, what a surprise," Sakura said with a beam as she closed the door behind her, groceries in hand. "Is anyone in the mood for freshly caught salmon?"

The older blonde woman closed her eyes and broadly smiled ear to ear. "Something better than the take-out Jiraiya and I went crazy with over the weekend. And to make sure no one goes insane over obsessing over what could happen in the end, I'm going to step up and make sure everyone enjoys the rest of this vacation you all have!" she declared, picking up the cat and holding him up before her eyes. He mewed and flicked out his tail behind him, making everyone laugh.

 _Now that Grandma is here, nothing seems so hard now._

"Alright, I'll get the side dishes ready!" Naruto announced proudly, jumping up. "Ramen, rice and every sushi plate! And Sakura, your mom's dumplings for dessert!"

At the same time, Hanaru heard her ringtone, and narrowed her eyes when she saw Sasuke's name. Seeing this, Naruto bared his teeth, Tsunade narrowed her eyes, Sakura snorted, and Itachi hissed.

~o~

 _Oh, the bastard thought he could show up with tri-colored dumplings, did he?_ Naruto thought disgustedly at the sight of the _teme_ himself in his dark blue t-shirt and jeans, holding a familiar pink box, half an hour later after the call in which Sasuke had PLEADED with all of them to let him come, and to let him see his brother.

"Sasuke, you really expect us all to easily accept you after the shit you pull off?" Hanaru demanded, right after a blow to his cheek that would have sent him off his feet, but it was enough to make him blink, as well as make Sakura stifle giggles, Tsunade leaned back with a proud gaze. Itachi mewed and stood on all fours, his tail straight in the air, appraising her.

Rubbing his cheek, Sasuke cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, I don't. I just want to...be there for my brother, but I won't waste my time and say a useless apology that doesn't mean anything. I do want to admit that I am...the bastard you all say I am." He swallowed. "It's not every day a man confesses that. But can you all please let me back in so I can spend more time around my brother -" He looked right at Itachi who blinked and let his tail drop, thumping onto the table surface. "- before I lose him for good?"

 _O...kay..._

He'd been rendered speechless before, and so had Sakura. Never in their years did they think they'd hear _Sasuke Uchiha_ of all people to admit - "Well, about time you came to your senses," Tsunade said coolly, leaning back forward, hands in her lap now.

Sakura pursed her lips as she regarded her husband thoughtfully, fingering the thin rose-gold band around her finger as if contemplating to remove it - but it never happened. Naruto never dared to ask her about it, but did she consider separating from him after all because of his brother turning into a cat, therefore turning both their lives - his and Itachi's - upside down once again? After all, deciding after causing his brother and their uncles trouble in teenage years to get married after getting his diploma? This sounded like it was beside the point, but mistakes had been made long enough.

Was Sasuke starting to get his head in the game now? Was he looking back now? Naruto would not pretend that the _teme_ wasn't cracking completely yet. His old rival turned friend might be the oldest monument to the head, but he also could easily be cracked emotionally with the right amount of pressure. And lately with more than one person, that might as well be the case, if taking a slow step at a time. Confidence swelled in him then and there. _Sasuke Uchiha, you're gonna have to grow up eventually and move past that trouble you caused your brother and yourself since you have no better way to deal with pain._

Finally Sakura spoke. "Good, because now I don't want to slap you again," she said frostily, the ghost of a smile pulling both sides of her face. Sasuke's eyes shone a little in that he was happy she couldn't stay mad at him forever.

Sasuke's attention fell down to his brother who had made his way onto the floor, and was now sauntering over to him, purring and mewling as he rubbed himself against Sasuke's legs. The show would make both the hardened and soft-hearted melt into one entity. Itachi wasn't the bad guy, and neither was Sasuke - but neither were blameless at a degree either.

Sasuke handed the pink box of dumplings to Hanaru, who remained tight in the face and carefully watching, before he knelt down and scratched his feline brother behind the ears and down the back, making the kitty arch into his touch, and then both hands picked the animal up to hold against him. Itachi put both his paws on his younger brother's chest and meowed, as if to say, "I'm sorry, Sasuke...but you need to do more than this." Naruto wasn't stupid to miss that. This was sibling love-hate, two sides of the same coin.

 _Itachi really loves his brother. He loves him so much he wanted to do anything, but he grew tired that he let Sasuke make his own decisions - even if he feels like he failed in more ways than one. It takes the right person to see the "Ice Prince" that is Itachi Uchiha._

 _Hanaru, my big sister, knew what she was doing with him, and she couldn't have picked a great man...even if the man is in the physical form of his animal half._

Wasn't it funny how something impossible to the rational mind could be used to bring people together in crisis?

~o~

Now, weren't the last couple days interesting or what? She counted them off in her head instead of with her fingers like her brother. Sasuke and Itachi's uncle Izuna had given the younger the rest of Spring Break off of work to get his act together; the pretense was that Itachi was out sick because of an unexpected flu, likely to return around the time Madara returned from his trip abroad. _Oh, yeah, Sasuke, less than two weeks now. All it took was for Itachi the kitty and your uncle relieving you of your job for vacation._

Hanaru did not regret giving him the slug of the century, which was what all the women in her family were notorious for, and so was Sakura and several others of their girl friends. In fact, she enjoyed it as much as she enjoyed hearing him admit his asshole nature, his childishness.

So, he brought his _aniki's_ favorite dango, but that wouldn't be enough. _At least it's a start._ She thought this with a sigh which would be the last one for that Monday evening which had gotten better since Grandma Tsunade came, and Sakura brought with her a fresh caught salmon ready to be seasoned and grilled for all of them, coupled with the sake Tsunade brought with her from Shukuba Town as well as the sides Naruto promised, ending with the dumplings brought home by Sasuke. Itachi had devoured the fish like a pig than he did before, and if he wasn't careful, he might become a fat little cat - oh, the fantasies that made her stomach flip-flop! - and would appear with more weight on his sexy body when they got him back as a human.

Wednesday came, and none other than Gaara - one of her brother's closest friends - as well as his brother and sister were hosting a luau on the local beach as the sun was setting. Tsunade insisted on all of them going, and she was bringing Jiraiya with her for the ride, much to her husband's chagrin. But it wasn't like he was going to cheat on her; she might have him check out the ladies from afar for "inspiration" for his next book...and that was the last thing Hanaru wanted to know about while they were here at the beach, surrounded by torches and a bonfire lit, lush flowers splattered across the sand in an array of color to match the sky.

Hanaru wore an ivory bikini with gold accents, a rosy hued sarong around her waist; Sakura's one-shouldered two-piece was twisted into a bandeau style and blushing to match her hair, beneath an airy white dress printed with vibrant red blossoms at the hem. And Hinata wore a high-low ivory dress over her strapless, flattering printed one-piece. Even Tsunade got herself for the beach in a ruffled, off-shoulder dress of turquoise to match the incoming waves onto the shoreline.

Oh, Naruto had to make everyone laugh with his bright orange trunks, but they all accepted it was him. Sasuke's t-shirt was black as his trunks were blue, and Jiraiya looked like he was going on a safari in his crisp white shirt and khakis. _My grandparents do look good-looking today as they did when they were younger - I wonder if that will happen to me and Naruto one day._ But she never cared to obsess over one thing too long...except when it involved a serious crisis.

"Gaara! Hey, Gaara!" Naruto screamed as he ran over to his red-haired friend, throwing his arms around the other for a big bear hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Naruto," Gaara answered, patting him on the back before being the first to break up the embrace, and his brother Kankuro - who, by the way, looked good without his usual face makeup that he wore every day for some reason - and sister Temari, who was with Shikamaru since last year, came to repeat the ritual before moving onto the rest. However, with Sasuke, it should be obvious that some found him unlikely to be true friend material.

To see how everyone reacted at the joining of Tsunade and Jiraiya was priceless, but welcoming. Tonight was the greatest time they had, friends and loved ones together - herself and her fiancée while he was in kitty form, as well as her brother and his girlfriend, Shikamaru and Temari, Tenten, Lee, Choji, Ino and Sai, and the rest - but with one missing among them. Neji was currently stable, and his family was still being there. However, to get this off her chest to herself, every single one of them would go and visit him tomorrow.

Itachi was allowed to wander about, receiving coos and praises from everyone - and Akamaru recognized him and growled, making the cat hiss right back, but Kiba was there to hold his beast back. In return, Hanaru lifted her chin and proudly reminded him to keep the dog away from her precious kitty.

At the end of the night, after a sumptuous cuisine from sushi to curry and rice and other barbeque assortment - courtesy of Akimichi family hands - fireworks exploded overhead to signal the jovial night's end...and beginning the next morning with the storm breaking out.


	12. Tragedy Strikes

**There is more character death in this chapter, actually shown rather than just mentioned, and it ought to be obvious WHO - and you might be in tears. :( I was when I first saw it in the anime Shippuden, still am a little bit...**

Chapter Twelve

Tragedy Strikes

 _Neji..._

The lines on the EKG machine were flat.

The terrible sound rung in her ears as well as the rest of them that horrid Thursday afternoon.

Only last night, they were all celebrating beneath the setting sun and with good food, music and dancing, climaxing with fireworks that had been provided from Lee's collection. When morning broke, they all arrived at the planned time at Konoha General to see Neji in his room in the ICU. Their hopes and prayers remained in that their friend should make a safe recovery and then return to them, despite critical being the word. His whole life was ahead of them, just like the rest of them...but it didn't end that way when cruel fate placed them in the same room when the hideous sounds of the flatlines caused Lee to shriek and Ino to drop the flowers she'd been holding - a basket of purple violets, pink lilies and yellow mini roses - and Sai who had always had trouble with emotional women held onto her, ever unsure of what to do.

The room had been in an uproar as the childhood friends had their own way of expressing the horror that happened before their very eyes.

Lee was crying Neji's name, more highly sensitive than the girls.

Shino did not react in the slightest, but if he did fear for his old friend's life, he would not show them all.

Akamaru barked in dismay.

Tenten didn't know what to do and just stood there like an idiot.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed furiously as he silently pleaded with Neji to NOT leave them...

Hinata covered her face with both her hands and turned into Naruto, letting him get her outside just as the team rushed in, and Sakura stayed behind to assist.

Finally, Hanaru held Itachi close to her as he mewed. He turned his attention away and buried his face into her warmth. Knowing him, he was indifferent if not cold. He was never close to Neji Hyuuga, nor did he know him personally other than by name, but that did not mean he had no right to be worried for her, Hinata and the rest of them, because her brother's girlfriend was his _cousin._ Their fathers had been brothers.

She cradled the cat close to her and waited with the others, watching as Sakura and the doctors and nurses wheeled Neji out of the room and onto a stretcher, all the while trying to perform CPR or add more oxygen to his mask, and even charged the paddles to shoot more electricity into his lungs...and she forgot what else was being done as her mind suddenly became a haze, and her vision was slowly turning white.

Everyone slumped into the waiting room, waiting outside for further word because of orders. Neji had been in this coma since he was first brought in, and there had been no telling if he'd ever pull out of it since his injuries - both internal and external - were too great to be completely healed.

It turned out, in the end, that he would never pull through.

Hanaru, Naruto and their friends stood up when Sakura returned along with the head doctor himself. The pinkette's eyes were dull and glazed with tears she fought to hold back. She was allowed to tell them all herself since she had tried everything she could with the rest of the medics. Hinata wept and sank deeper into Naruto's arms; the rest of the women did the same, and every man either closed his eyes or looked down at the ground gravely, doing their best to not cry. Even Sasuke, despite the fact he and Neji, too, were never personally close-knit.

Neji Hyuuga was pronounced dead, aged only nineteen years old.

~o~

The funeral was held on Saturday. Apparently Hiashi Hyuuga had prepared everything in case this would happen, and if his beloved nephew and other heir DID die, the arrangements would always be cancelled and refunded. But now the day had come. As a result, the last of the vacation for all the young people who'd known each other and Neji all their lives spent it mourning him, even planning one more luau at the very same beach spot for his honor Saturday night.

Now, the services at the Konoha Memorial took place outside, beneath the sun shining down on them all, but it was soon going to turn gray, with little chance to rain. Even if there would be, then the light sheen would only wet them all with fresh tears to go with the ones the mourners were all shedding and sharing.

Sakura and the rest of the ladies each held a white rose in hand - being her case - or even a bouquet of them, in the cases of Tenten, Ino, and finally Hinata and her sister. Her black dress wrapped around her quite well, but her sunglasses hid her face as well as her tears. Opposite was Hanaru in a sheer black overlay over a sleeveless dress, cradling his brother in her arms, and Naruto right beside her with his arm around her waist. Nearly every man and young boy attending the service was in black suits and collared shirts, Sasuke himself included.

 _The Uchiha and Hyuugas were never close, save for business._

Speaking of which, Itachi "wasn't" there; people did ask for him, because the Uchiha next-in-line was missed to be there. However, the questions died as soon as the ceremony began.

The previous night, as per custom, the wake had taken place in which the deceased had been moistened at the lips by his relatives as the "last water from the world", before the family shrine was placed about with white paper to keep all evil spirits out. Sasuke remembered what it had been like for the funeral of his parents; their caskets had been placed with tables covered with a candle along with incense and flowers. _Neji had gotten the same._ Like today, the men were in black suits while the women chose either a matching colored dress or kimono - the _tsuya,_ or "passing the night".

Just like last night, the priest recited from the _sutra_ scripture. Today was the actual funeral. Neji's oak casket was covered with a spray of white roses, gladioli and ferns, and his portrait standing on one end framed with those same flowers. When the incantation was completed, the mourners would leave their flowers around the head and shoulders of the dead. After this, the procession would move onward to the crematory.

Neji Hyuuga was described as hard-working, dedicated and worthy in all their eyes, all of which was true - and beneath had a heart like the rest of them even if he often was cold when he chose to be. Sasuke had to close his eyes and inhale through his nose at that. _It reminds me of..._

The sound of Itachi's soft meows made him reopen his eyes and turn them to the corner, seeing the cat's blinking, hard stare fixated on him. His brother was telling him, _"_ Otouto _, you know what that implies. He was not the only one; even I can admit to that. But I have my reasons for returning the cold shoulder to you and to anyone around us."_ The younger Uchiha winced.

The hearse on the back of the Hyuuga-owned limousine was elaborately carved gold in the appearance of a temple; the now-closed casket was hauled into the back, prepared to be shipped to turn the body into ashes in an urn for the family shrine.

Later when night fell, he and the others returned to the very same spot on the shoreline where they'd celebrated the night before they lost Neji. Hinata and Hanabi were given permission by their father, since no fun was ever permitted in times of grief, as well as in America and other cultures. All of them shifted to dressing in white then, lighting up lanterns to be lifted into the sky, carried to the heavens in Neji's honor. Candlelight in square dishes as well as herbal incense lit to surround them all and join the paper lanterns as they made their journey beyond.

Soft drumbeats and flute tunes filled their empty hearts - even Sasuke's and Itachi in kitty form, despite the fact they were never close to the dead man. But he'd been Hinata's cousin and a really good friend to Naruto and the others, so they were both here just for that.

~o~

Naruto always hated funerals - but it wasn't like these death events were designed to be enjoyed. Who enjoyed loss and grief anyway? _Unless you are sadistic enough._ He was driving his girlfriend and her sister home, and the others went their separate ways. After that, he was heading home to Grandma and the Pervy Sage himself.

Hanaru pecked him on the cheek, then let Itachi the cat paw at his face without scratching him, mewing as his way of saying "see you next time". He gave them both a little smile before turning to follow both Hyuuga women back to his car, which Hanabi had to open her mouth about.

"I don't get why you didn't have this thing renovated on the outside, Naruto," she pointed out snidely, making him roll his eyes as he started up the engines.

"That's not the problem with me. The most important thing is that this runs well, and I take care of its system like I am supposed to."

"Hanabi-chan," Hinata said sternly, "don't start." The younger Hyuuga girl folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin in the backseat, turning to stare out to her right. She had been named next in the Hyuuga company, but she wasn't of age yet, and their father was in no hurry to retire, nor was he going to die anytime soon, and the recent loss of his late younger brother's son had troubled him as much as the rest of them. Because of old traditional value, the eldest brother was considered most important, which explained why Neji had only been second best even though he did rise as he worked hard through time.

As for Hiashi's daughters and lack of sons of his own, Hanabi had more skill than Hinata, for the eldest was too much like her mother in that she was softer in manner and nature. While Naruto hated that treatment of her, he was glad she might not have to face the pressures of running the family business. It made him think about his eventual brother-in-law; his sister had said that the pressure was getting to Itachi for the longest time. And those times Sasuke complained how he tried to prove himself over and over...it was one thing he and Neji shared in common.

He hadn't witnessed or experienced death since he learned his parents were killed, not long after Sasuke's. Neither his or his best friend's received justice - but that wasn't the same as what happened to Neji. However...to once again lose someone precious to him in his life was a blow to his heart.

Hinata hadn't been able to stop crying, and she was constantly wiping her face with tissues from her purse. Hanabi hadn't shed a tear since early that day, or maybe she masked it well because she was harder than her _aneki._ Yeah, she was a tough little cookie, but so was Hinata in her right.

When they finally arrived at the Hyuuga estate, Hanabi wasted no time jumping out, not before "politely" bidding him good night. Attention on his girlfriend, her cheeks were pink as she was still drying her eyes. But that didn't stop him from leaning over and kissing her tenderly. "Hope you sleep well tonight." He didn't know what else to say, because what DO you say to the woman you loved who missed her cousin? Smiling softly, Hinata left him and followed her sister into their home.

Naruto started the engine and made his way home back to his grandparents.

~o~

"Hell of a day, Itachi." Hanaru exhaled when she arrived to their apartment, closing and locking the door behind her, placing the cat down on the floor. He mewled at his landing, then turned around and regarded her. Laughing a little, she started to head for their bedroom. A bath and then bed was in order, but before bed, she needed to feed them both by making a small pot of soup since she was too tired to make something fancy.

She undressed in their room before walking straight for the bathroom. Itachi was still watching her, but it wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before. That was all they'd done in their relationship while he was still human. Not long after he proposed to her last Christmas, Hanaru had said she wanted to wait until their wedding night to consummate, and he'd respected her wishes. Both their families really took intercourse very seriously; surprise, surprise.

Relieved when she was finished, she returned redressed in blue-and-black flannel pajamas before going to collect the kitty for the kitchen and then a good night's rest after these tragic last couple days. She wasn't that close to Neji Hyuuga in the past, but she would miss him the best she could.

 _Monday is the day, however. The ingredients to the potion come, and right on time._

After losing an important person and the stubborn Duck Butt himself starting to straighten up, what more could happen?

 **I've researched traditional Japanese funeral services, therefore became intrigued by the customs. :)**

 **Even though Neji isn't seen until his death, his loss in the anime/manga really affects us all - even the ones who didn't give him much attention. :( Lee's cries on the battlefield...we feel him. But at least everyone made sure his death was NOT in vain.**

 **This has been a hell of an emotional ride. I know I had promised fun and danger, but the REAL stuff is just coming soon. :D**


	13. From Up to Down

Chapter Thirteen

From Up to Down

Sakura wasn't overtly weeping when they had returned home after the funeral, but she wasn't smiling either, not that he was cold enough to expect her to not. "Feel like a drink with me?" she asked, shrugging off her coat and taking his when he offered it to her.

"Hn, why not?" Sasuke exhaled and loosened his tie as he made way for their bedroom to hang it up and remove his shoes as well. When he returned, Sakura had kicked her heels off and left them at the door while she cooked up something at their bar - sake mixed with something sweet and fruity. He saw that it was a pear formula, which made him smile. When he stood behind her right after downing a swig - following a short toast to remember Neji, he placed a kiss on the area of exposed shoulder. She sighed and leaned into him.

 _Glad to know you're not mad at me anymore._

However, while she wrapped her arm around, her hand touching his, he frowned at the limited warmth he received. He knew why; she felt she failed utterly when she tried to save Neji, even though the chance of his survival had been predicted slight from the start. "Sakura, there was nothing you could have done. You did try."

"That's hardly the point. Neji shouldn't have..." She trailed off, swallowing thickly.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said that." The effect was small on Sasuke, but he meant every word he said. It was also then and there that he realized the depth of the outcome if something were to happen to his brother. As a last resort, it took the weight of Neji Hyuuga's death to kick him to that reality.

One week from today was the full moon, which warned him that they all had to hurry before it was too late for Itachi. He buried his face into the crook of his wife's shoulder, suppressing a shudder.

~o~

As soon as she was off work, she would meet her grandparents at home. Actually, everyone would gather, with the exception of Hinata because of the grief of losing Neji, but she would join them all again before Saturday would come. That would be the day to come...

She was up that morning with her usual green tea as well as the rice balls doused with a personal peach flavor, then crushed one for Itachi to nibble on, on the table for her line of vision, and she even put some milk in a small bowl, which made him meow in disdain because he was NOT a real housecat. Laughing, Hanaru reached over and rubbed him along the back as he began to smack loudly, his little head bobbing up and down as he enjoyed breakfast. Then his eyes lit up when he caught sight of the glimmering ruby ringed with tiny whites around her finger.

"Yeah, when we get you back to normal -" _IF, which is hopefully still a high possibility if we don't encounter anything physical._ "- I can't wait for the day for us," she said wistfully, laying her wrist down, his paw padding against her hand and purring before leaning down to lick at her, his rough tongue making her shiver. "Really, if I haven't said it before, you're really precious the way you are."

He mewped and looked at her one more time before stepping back to finish his food. She did the same; she had to leave and get to work soon.

Hinata was there, despite losing her cousin, but she wanted to come in as distraction, and she thought her classes would do the same. The Hyuugas were known for moving forward, but to always keep the memories alive; the Uchihas were known for the same, and other old families - but each individual had their own ways of dealing with loss.

 _Hinata would never shut off those around her like Sasuke did._

She was in a tight yellow t-shirt and light-washed denims when she kissed Itachi goodbye and left him to enjoy his day without her. She also left him food on the island to eat whenever he was hungry. She realized that this was the first time leaving him alone for the entire day.

As expected, there was Hinata herself in a gray sweatshirt and dark jeans, her hair tied back today which was a rarity. The latest shipments of new books regarding American literature classics from the mid-1800s came in, and she was assisting with the unloading. Hinata was smiling as usual, but it was a pretense, and the blonde knew it well. But she wouldn't force her best friend to speak if she didn't want to. Grief took a hell of a time to overcome, but NEVER do it alone.

As if reading her mind, Hinata brought her hand up to cup Hanaru's cheek. "I won't turn you, Naruto or the others away from me - like Sasuke did," she said softly, then sighed sharply, dropping her hand, and they resumed work before they would head to the back room for the next available scheduled shipments, or any book fairs to come.

~o~

 _Darkness._

 _Shots of light._

 _Everything within vision range was distorted, but he heard bits of audible voices crystal clear._

 _"...your new baby brother..."_

 _Brother..._

 _"May I hold him, Mum?"_

 _"Of course, like this..."_

 _"He's strong, Mikoto...we will call him Sasuke. Let's hope one day he will live up to the family name and bring honor to the crest we wear..."_

 _His birth._

 _Then another voice, deeper but still young - and the face of his brother, Itachi. With a smile, brighter than the sharp white surrounding him. Like an angel from heaven._

"We're flesh and blood, little brother. I'm always going to be there for you...even as an obstacle for you to overcome...if you DO hate me..."

~o~

He had that dream - or memory? - last night. He did not have it in a long time, and it came back to him as though it were only yesterday. The last time he remembered was he was only seven, not long before his parents were slain. Why did it return only now?

Never mind now. Sasuke remembered because it was one of the most important events of his and Itachi's lives. His birth, young Itachi wanting to hold his newborn brother, and what he'd said before their parents died...

 _"I'm always going to be there for you...even as an obstacle for you to overcome..."_

It was barely the middle of the day when he was pulled away from his thoughts, deep in work and checking the order made between Hyuuga and Uchiha Tech when suddenly he heard familiar voices that he hadn't heard since high school ended. "Oi, Sasuke!"

"Suigetsu, keep your damned voice down! We're in a store and don't need all the attention on us!"

 _Ah...the old Team Hawk from the good old days._

"You guys," Sasuke stated casually behind his counter as the trio stood before him: Naruto and Hanaru's cousin, Karin Uzumaki, her boyfriend Suigetsu Hozuki - whose shock of white-blue hair and distinctive teeth gave him the appearance of a predator fish from the deep - and an unfamiliar broad young man with soft features and flaming red hair to match Karin. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Psh, long time?" Suigetsu scoffed. "Almost two years doesn't even cut it. We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd stop by and see you while we had the opportunity. Plus, babe here wanted to see how her old eye candy was faring." The Uchiha sniffed and held back a retort. Oh, how could he forget one of his many old fangirls? She turned tomato red to match her eyes and hair, the former blazing with fury warned she wouldn't hesitate to pummel the hell out of him here and now.

Humming once, Sasuke held his hand up to her. "Karin, will you please refrain from losing your infamous Uzumaki temper upon my family's property? And Suigetsu, are the two of you together still?" he asked slyly. The blush softened then and there, and she cleared her throat.

"Um, yes, we are." She rolled her eyes when Suigetsu sniffed. She snorted back at him. "Still with this idiot who knows how to put up with me better than anyone."

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. _Yeah...love sometimes means being with someone who drives you crazy._

Suigetsu bared his teeth again. "Say, are you still with that pink-head or what?" The last time they saw each other was the wedding, and he'd been one of Sasuke's groomsmen.

"Of course. And if you're wondering, Sakura and I are doing fine." He turned his attention then to the soft-featured young man with red hair. "So, who is your friend here?"

"Oh, this is Juugo," Karin said, brightening up. "He's been in some trouble, but we saved his life, didn't we, babe?" She raised an eyebrow at an equally flushed Suigetsu. Sasuke rumbled in his throat. All of this was getting amusing. However...

He cleared his throat when he noticed the warning look he received from Izuna across the area. "Excuse me, guys, but as much as I would love to catch up like old times and to take my time getting to know you, Juugo -" _And I wonder what kind of "trouble" he's been in, hn..._ "- I have to get back to work, so is there something I can help you with?"

Their faces were crestfallen, but eventually, it was decided they would meet up again before they took off again out of Konoha. Sasuke felt a light weight being lifted off his chest - before it returned when Suigetsu HAD to ask: "You know, it surprises me you are beneath your assistant manager and next-in-line big brother who never showed up at your own wedding...and I don't see him anywhere, unless he is hiding like the weasel he is." He did earn a smack on the back of the head from Karin who snarled that she would give his ass a good spanking when they got back to the inn the three of them were all staying at.

Sasuke snickered to himself, but then - _You know, now that he made me remember my position...I haven't thought of that for awhile. Where do I stand now, as soon as my brother is human again? Am I stuck like this forever while he takes over after Uncle Madara?_

~o~

When the day ended, Naruto could not contain his excitement. This was going to be good, and he knew it. But he wasn't an expert in this field because Granny was a retired medic with her touch not out of style, Hanaru was a lover of fantasy on her own personal level besides her family history, and Naruto was willing to allow anything his way.

Shizune's shop read **ハーブと救済** on the banner above the door when they arrived in Tsunade's newly polished and refueled convertible, making them all smile. Itachi mewled at the sight, then nuzzled against Hanaru's neck and chin. Hinata rubbed him on his back down to his hind legs, making him roll about in his fiancée's arms. Seeing this in the rearview mirror from her driver's seat, Tsunade chuckled deep and shook her head.

"Shizune will definitely be happy to see you most of all, _baa-chan,_ " Naruto told her, when in fact, he couldn't wait to see her himself. She had been the one to help Sakura get into medical school like an assistant mentor when it had been Tsunade to teach her the toughest basics. "It looks like she's done well for herself." He saw stands of vials of every remedy he remembered basically when he and Hana-chan had gotten sick in the past. There were also a few white paper lanterns without artwork hanging above the door.

The lady herself was behind her counter, on the phone with a customer and was just hanging up after promising what they requested would be on time next week from today. Then her attention fell to the group standing in the doorway, and her face lit up. "Tsunade-sama, it's been a long time!" _Five years, a long time?_ That didn't sound like much, but with the amount to pass, it would change some things indefinitely. Shizune didn't change much about her appearance, except her dark hair once cropped much shorter than Sakura's had grown out enough to be held in a small ponytail behind her head.

"Hi, Shizune," Hanaru said, walking up and putting one arm around the other woman, the cat in her embrace squirming a little as if to warn that he was going to be crushed between them. "Yeah, say hi, Itachi," she cooed to the little feline, holding him up to the flustered Shizune.

"Itachi, am I right?" She was one of the few, not blood-related to know the family secrets. The cat purred beneath her touch, one of his paws coming up to pad against her wrist. "Everything is ready, Tsunade-sama, but if you need my hand putting it all together..." she offered.

"There's no need, Shizune. This will be a piece of cake." While the two women were soon behind the counter, Hinata had taken to examining everything on the shelf for the public. Naruto joined her, just out of habit, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw his sister take a squirming Itachi outside and then let him down, making him blush as she was. No nearby restroom, and the poor cat needed to be taken around the shop, behind the collection of trash bins, for his business.

~o~

Grandma Tsunade said it would take two or three days to complete the formula in time for Saturday night, and it would remain in her position instead of Hanaru's. She accepted that; she'd been irresponsible in letting this happen to Itachi, but that didn't matter now. He also knew about her now, so maybe it was always meant to be. She would have told him, and he would have accepted her difference, right?

 _What happened has_ happened. _When we get him back, we'll definitely talk about this._

In the next three days to pass, nothing eventful happened, and life was as it was in the best sense normal could go. She went to work as usual, and Hinata the same even though she also had her classes along with Naruto and their friends. Sakura was busier than ever with both studies and the emergency room, so that was why she didn't make it with them to Shizune's shop on Monday.

Sasuke - he had been approached by three of his old friends from high school whom he hadn't seen for some time now, and that had worried Sakura who confided in the blonde about this. Hanaru never met those "friends" of his, except one whom she rarely saw since they were all kids: Karin, her and Naruto's cousin on their late mother's side. The last she heard was Karin majored in Behavioral Sciences and was doing quite well for herself. It turned out she was with Suigetsu, a strange fish-like guy; those teeth of his, Sakura brought up. They also had a friend named Juugo. No one knew his surname or where he came from. The guy was a complete mystery, but harmless, though. Sakura was able to relax around him, although she still had questions.

The three of them were in Konoha until the week was over, so Sasuke wanted to take advantage of it by the four of them having BBQ Thursday, and his wife was going - surprisingly, he invited her and her brother to go with. Naruto was coming to pick her and Itachi up; she was bringing him along because she didn't want to leave him alone and missing out on meeting Sasuke's friends.

But he'd hissed while watching her get dressed into the pretty short-sleeved white top trimmed with lace paired with a flowing floral skirt. He'd said that he did not approve of this, because he remembered those three, few times he'd met them. They'd been the "bad crowd" for his little brother, which he'd made blaringly obvious from his own mouth. "Yeah, but you know what?" she said as she fastened her necklace around her neck. "Maybe they changed a little, but no way of knowing. You won't be able to be there in your real form, but at least you'll see with your own eyes, right, baby?" She picked him up and slung her little bag over the other shoulder, kissing the back of his head. He mewed and bobbed his head once.

Naruto was outside, waiting for them. He grinned at the sight of his sister and the cat. "Alright, let's do this!" he shouted as soon as they were both in the front passenger seat next to him.

However, no sooner did they leave the neighborhood and was turning a corner in a seedy section did the engine sputter and then bring them to a stop on the side of the street.

"WHAAAAT?!" Naruto screeched in dismay. "What the hell?! Baby, you picked tonight of all nights to die on me!"

Hanaru was just as distraught as he was, but she wasn't freaking out like he was - except her heart was threatening to pick up. "You realize that shouting about it won't help, right?" With that, she got out of the car at the same time he did, pulling her phone out of her purse and was about to dial for Sakura - she and Sasuke might already be at Akimichi's by now, sadly no ramen tonight for poor Naruto - while her brother opened up the hood to take a look at the gears and gas tanks -

\- at the same time she heard Sakura's voice answer on the other end, but she was not given the chance to respond when a gloved hand slapped over her mouth, and she was pulled backwards and into an alley. Her purse and mobile hit the ground simultaneously. Itachi was still in her arms, hissing and clawing at their assailants to no avail.

 _Shit, we're being kidnapped!_

Hanaru had never had this happen to her before, so she was scared to death as she could NOT think of why or who was doing this. The last thing she heard when she and Itachi were thrown into the back of the van - he yowled, furious that he couldn't shout back in the smartest obscenity he could - was the frantic shout of her brother's voice.

" _Hanaru! ITACHI!"_

~o~

Sakura really looked beautiful in her slimming red sweater and tight blue jeans when they rode his motorcycle together - they hadn't done this in awhile, and he missed the thrill of her behind him while he took the lead - as they both arrived together at Akimichi's to meet Suigetsu and the others. They'd just arrived and had sat down when Sakura's phone rang. It was Hanaru. _She and Naruto must have hit a disturbance. The dobe isn't dumb enough to hit an accident on the streets. Unless..._

The sound on the other end made Sakura's eyes widen, her jaw drop, and her whole body freeze. Something was wrong. "Hanaru?" she said breathlessly before raising her voice a little. "Hanaru, what's going on?"

There was a pause before she received an answer, only it wasn't Hanaru. "Naruto, what happened?" She listened, not putting him on speaker, especially when Sasuke whispered.

"What is it?"

"Ssh!" She returned her attention to the blond on the other end, and he saw the shine visibly on her forehead. "Where are you now?"

 _Naruto is saying there was trouble._ Sasuke did not need to ask. He found himself looking across the table at the dismayed other three who wanted to know what was happening to the other two who were supposed to meet them here. When Sakura broke the contact, she announced they were all going to the address where Naruto was currently at. Sasuke's blood turned to ice.

Hanaru and Itachi were both in bigger trouble than he was.

 **The kanji text of Shizune's shop translates to "Herbs and Remedies".**

 **Now the fun and trouble I promised REALLY begins. :D But Hanaru and her kitty future hubby need rescuing... :O Duh duh DUH!**


	14. Kidnapped

**It turns out I feel this story will officially be under twenty chapters long, but right now...**

 **Mild warning: some swearing pushing the limits in here, but nothing overtly graphic. Notably from one of the newest antagonists (whom you are all familiar with).**

Chapter Fourteen

Kidnapped

She sat in the corner of the van and swallowed as she held Itachi close to her. He meowed and looked around with her, even though the van was dark. She really was trying to be strong, because Naruto would no doubt call the others and start to look where she and Itachi were both taken - except WHERE?

The vehicle bumped, making her almost stumble from her sitting position and fall to her side. Itachi screeched and held onto her, his claws digging through her shirt. She yelped. "Itachi, watch that!"

 _Who the hell are these people, and what do they want with us?_

Hanaru knew she would find out soon enough, but her paranoia wasn't making it easier. It wasn't good for the health, but she couldn't help it. She thought to formulate a plan on what to do when the van stopped at wherever they were going. She doubted they would kill her and her poor "cat" right away, but that didn't make it easier...

"Itachi," she said finally after long and hard thinking, "when we get out of here, I am going to put you down, and I want you to run as fast as you can to find Naruto and the others, and see if you guys can come back for me." _We can't have gone very far, and we know this town so well since we were all kids._

Bug eyes widened, and he mewed and shook his head in denial. "I know, you don't want to leave me," Hanaru whispered, kissing him on the nose. He wiggled it in response. "But it's the best I can think of. Your life is more important than mine. I might die here, but if you're free, then your chances of being human again are higher because we trust Grandma Tsunade. Life isn't always a happy ending, and we both know that..."

But it was now or never if he was to flee with his life to find her brother and the rest. Wherever they were now, it was isolated from peaceful eyes.

She put Itachi down at the same time they all came to a stop at last. There were voices outside as well as slamming against steel walls - and the door opened then and there. "Get up, bitch." The voice was harsh and female, meaner than Sakura or her grandmother were in during their moods. A shock of coppery red hair flashed before Hanaru's eyes as well as a snarl as the woman raised her voice, making Hanaru stand and walk forward, Itachi right behind her. The woman spat down at the feline as he hissed at her and jumped down from the vehicle.

"I hate cats."

Hanaru wanted so much to slap the hell out of her, but that would be stupid on her part. It was then and there that she used her foot to gently nudge his side as the cue to move.

Just like that, Itachi took off running down the alleyway they were in. The red-haired woman growled through her teeth and, to Hanaru's horror, pulled a caliber from her leather jacket and furiously fired at the little black animal as it dashed with lightning speed, dodging bullets at every turn like a real ninja. Bitch didn't seem to care if they were heard.

Thankfully, she never hit the target. Relief washed over Hanaru inside as her eyes swelled with tears of joy she held back in the presence of one of her captors.

 _He got away...Itachi got away._

Then the gun was turned onto her. "I won't say it again; move it, skank!"

"Tayuya, your mouth won't get her worked up enough. And besides, the master wants her without a scratch."

Hanaru turned her head at the other voice - it was male, someone sick without proper words, the kind to rile you up for all the wrong reasons. She felt her stomach coil at the black lipstick and eyeliner he wore. The wench, Tayuya, glared viciously at the newcomer. "Shut your ass up, Sakon!" she spat, at the same time she whacked Hanaru on the back of the shoulder. Pain erupted in the blade, but she bit back a whimper at how much it DID hurt.

 _At least Itachi got away safely. I hope he knows how to get to our brothers and the others on time...and if he doesn't get into trouble or is killed somehow._ To think of him so small and vulnerable as a little cat in the streets; so much could happen in ways that would prevent a worried mother or lover from sleeping at night until their child or man were found safe and sound.

~o~

About time _teme_ and the rest showed up! Naruto was waiting on the hood of Dad's old gift to him. _Kami damn it, my baby...!_ He had never been so flipped in his life. If Hinata were here, she would be dabbing him over and over with her tissues until none were left.

 _My sister...Itachi...they've been taken!_

He should have called the authorities or someone else - after all, who was he, a college kid and his friends, to do? It would be a waste of time, if you asked him. Besides, they couldn't have gone too far either. Konoha wasn't vast, as repeatedly said by several point of views. Although they might get struck in the face - _and where could they have been taken?!_ He would NOT let his _aneki_ and her cat man be imprisoned by whoever the hell it was...

Headlights flashed before his eyes along with the roaring of the engine of a motorcycle. _Sasuke!_

Sakura was holding onto him from behind, and they weren't alone. The car behind them had none other than cousin Karin, her annoying and cocky boyfriend and their silent but mild-mannered other. Karin wanted to tell him it had been awhile and was looking forward to getting to know him and Hanaru again, but what happened just now prevented that. Worry hung over them all. "Naruto, what the hell happened here with the car?!"

" _Teme,_ your brother and my sister have just been abducted, and you're asking about my damned car?!" he yelled in disbelief. "Hanaru and Itachi are out there and need us as I speak!"

"And do you remember what direction they went in?"

Naruto nodded, remembering what happened at the same time _nee-chan_ had phoned Sakura in front of him before the black-clad vagabonds - a female around her age with red hair and a nasty attitude; the other was a foul-looking guy he refused to repeat to himself - snatched her and Itachi towards a van that had "magically" appeared in the alleyway, and this really big guy with tattoos had punched Naruto on his back, knocking him down but not OUT, which had given him time to get the license plate on the van as well as certain characteristics, such as the humongous musical note on both sides as well as the door. Cheesy and cheap in his opinion. Relaying this information to the ones in front of him, he got slack jaws from every one of them.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" the white-blue-haired guy who was Karin's boyfriend - Suigetsu was his name - yelled, turning and making way for his car. "Let's get them both!"

Naruto ended up in the car, in the back beside the silent and passive Juugo who seemed to like him even if he didn't say so himself. Karin was in the front, behind the driver's wheel while Suigetsu was to her right. Naruto was behind his redheaded cousin; her hair inherited on his mother's side, of course. That brought him back to a memory of when Hana-chan was just entering middle school, before Kushina was killed along with her husband. Hanaru had wanted to have Mum's red streaked in her hair, to have a physical part besides the temperamental genes.

Sasuke and Sakura on the motorcycle were in the lead, but neither party got very far when the cycle halted upon flashing the lights on a small black form leaping out at them. Naruto immediately recognized it as a _cat._

 _Itachi?!_

"What the hell?!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "We got to rescue your sister, Naruto, and Sasuke gets stopped by a stupid animal!" The blond wanted to snap that the animal wasn't stupid, and wasn't JUST a cat, but Karin beat him to it.

"Shut up, Suigetsu." She parked the car on the side of the street before getting out herself and walking up to Sasuke and Sakura, the little feline in the embrace of the former. "Sasuke, what is going on here? What's with the..." She blushed at the sight of the bug-eyed animal looking at her now, mewling and flicking his tail about. "...cute little kitty? Your brother and our cousin -"

Naruto decided to step in since she was blood-related and female after all, and he'd have to let her get Suigetsu to see it if he was ever in denial. "Cousin, it's actually Itachi. The family secret..." He swallowed, seeing red eyes behind huge spectacles widen into white balls.

And as expected, her screech pierced the air.

"Y-YOU MEAN THAT HANARU -!"

"Yeah, but it was an accident. And before you go on, Grandma Tsunade has everything ready in time for Saturday night before time runs out. But now she's been taken by some monsters we don't even know about, and we don't know where she is now -!" Naruto stopped himself then and there when he looked down at Itachi still in his brother's arms. "Wait, Itachi, you were there. Can you take us to her?" The cat meowed and bobbed his head up and down in positivity.

And damn Suigetsu. "Wait, wait a minute! What the hell is going on? Karin, what is he talking about? For all we know, these guys could be from the loony bin!" he ranted, only to face Naruto's wrath when he snapped. _No one calls us all crazy and lives!_ The guy grunted and rubbed his jaw where the blow struck. "What the damned hell was that for, Naruto?!"

"You know why, idiot!" Karin snapped, whacking him on the back of the head. "For your information, none of us are crazy as you're saying! Our family - specifically the women - have watched over the known animal spirits in our culture, kept them sealed within crystalline form and blood oath...until the written incantation is spoken to free them, overtake the physical human form in their own. At first they start out as regular animals we see every day, but if they are not turned back by the next full moon, then they become their demonic forms in lore," she finished, by then taking off her glasses and rubbing them clean at the bottom of her shirt, just out of habit.

Suigetsu was gob-smacked, at a loss for words, making everyone but Juugo smirk. Then his attention fell down to Itachi who mewped at him. It was as if the cat was telling him that anything he said would be like the time Sasuke refused to believe this. And speaking of which...

"I would listen to her and my brother here if I were you. I didn't want to believe it either, but accepting it is the best way to go." He looked down at Itachi then. "Itachi...where was she taken?"

The kitty squirmed, telling him that he wanted to be put down so he could lead the way. He wanted to walk because it wasn't that far away - and then they were stopped by a voice they never thought they would hear. Naruto blinked along with Sasuke when it turned out to be _Juugo._

His voice was soft like a slowly growing animal, and calm as the slightest breeze before a storm would break.

"I don't think it's wise to just rush out without a form of preparation."

~o~

What was this, a clichéd hostage crisis? Because it sure as hell looked like one indefinitely.

Hanaru was in the middle of a room with a sunlamp over her head, and her wrists and ankles were cuffed - yes, cuffed by chains - to both arms and frontal legs of the chair. This was typical being in a movie, and if they thought to intimidate her like this, it wasn't working. However, which she refused to let show, what did unnerve her was the fact that those other four - the bitch Tayuya, the ugly as hell Sakon, and this big tattooed guy as well as the fourth she never cared to look closely at - were hiding there, keeping their weapons at ready if she tried anything funny.

 _I'm really screwed._

There was the threatening click of a safety being repeatedly turned on to off and back, threatening her; if Hanaru had to take a guess, it was Tayuya. What could she say to piss the witch off if only to pass the time?

There was the sound of a door being opened and then closed...followed by a voice slithering like a snake, yet also held accents soft as silk. "The four of you may leave us for now. She will be of no harm to me. Besides, it's not like I will begin any time soon tonight."

"Yes, sir," Tayuya agreed, before a collection of footsteps told the captive that the order was being obeyed. Now she was alone with their leader, whoever he was. He sounded harmless physically, but looks could always deceive. _But I don't even know what he looks like - yet._

"Hanaru Uzumaki...it's been many years. I must say you have grown more beautiful than I heard you had been. Tell me, is that brother of yours doing well?"

She stiffened in her seat when the outline of the man stepped closer towards the light, but remained hidden in the shadows. She already caught the long hair he didn't bother to hold back like Itachi did. "How do you know my name?" she asked coldly, ignoring his question about Naruto altogether, which he didn't seem to mind. For now.

"Oh, you will remember me when I show my face to you, perhaps. Or have you not seen it since you were a child, when you and poor Naruto-kun were informed of the tragic deaths of your parents?" There was a wet sound, like lips being licked, making her queasy. Then it coiled painfully at the mention of Minato and Kushina.

"You bastard!" Hanaru spat towards him, but it didn't get far as the floor five feet away from her but two from him.

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Now, that was not nice, was it, my dear? Oh, well, perhaps it would be easier if I show you..." And with that, he stepped forward, first showing finely pressed dark trousers with the matching leather boots on the outside, then displaying a pressed lavender collar shirt. The sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showing off lean muscles beneath skin pale as snow - too inhuman. The wild hair that cascaded down the front of both shoulders was black like Itachi and Sasuke, but glinted dully even in the light.

However, the face made her clammy skin break out into an even greater sweat. Her heart began to thump rapidly; the demon's yellowish eyes narrowed as his thin-lipped smile stretched wider as if he could hear it from where he was standing.

"Oh, gods, I remember you."

Another titter and slurp. "Yes, Hana-kun, it's me...Orochimaru."

~o~

His eventual sister-in-law was currently being held hostage HERE?!

Sasuke stared up in disbelief at the old building in this part of Konoha which hadn't been touched in some time ever since it began going out of business. This was one of the oldest weaponries in history, before updates moved to the bigger parts of town and the capital. The relics were being taken from here and preserved for the public display.

 _Sound Weaponry._ The text **健全な武器** was fading in the last decade, but remained clear for the eye of rare passerbys.

Naruto gulped as he looked up at the place with the rest of them as though it were a haunted temple. "O-okay," he stammered, "l-l-let's not waste anymore time. Let's...save...Hanaru."

Itachi held onto Sasuke, his paws padding against the younger's chest as he switched his gaze back and forth between his face and at the place where the woman they all cared about was held against her will. He mewed in despair, his tail twitching rapidly. Sakura hitched a breath. "She's being held in there." It was a statement and not a question.

"Looks that way," Sasuke agreed.

Karin cleared her throat. "Maybe it's best," she said, "we go back to your place, Sasuke, and come up with a better plan to save her...tomorrow."

 _TOMORROW!_

Well, that sounded reasonable, because what did they have besides a car, his motorcycle, and a super pissed off Naruto? Not to mention, Itachi in small black cat form. " _Tomorrow?!_ You guys, we can't leave my sister here! We have to get her back before Saturday night and before whoever that rotten bastard that took her was does something!" he hissed.

Suddenly, there were voices coming from inside - and they were coming for the _front door._

"Aw, shit," Suigetsu groaned. Sasuke held Itachi closer to him, Sakura inched closer to him, and poor Naruto was shaking in his boots. But Juugo thankfully ushered them towards a collection of trash bins that hid them all just as the front door opened. Out came a young woman a bit older than them but maybe the same age as Hanaru was.

A white bandana ran across her forehead, pulling back hair lighter than Karin's but bordering on a lion's mane. She was in black leather, typical, and she had a gun out and ready. Her lip curled as she looked around, then spat on the ground and shook her head. "Oh, nothing," the group heard her hiss, before turning over her shoulder and yelling at whoever had asked her if anyone was there. "No, Sakon! You and Jirobo were just hearing things again, pieces of shit!" With that, she stepped back in and harshly closed the door before locking it.

"Well, her mouth is worse than mine," Sakura muttered, shaking her head.

"Ugh, yeah," Karin agreed, pushing her glasses up higher. "This is worse than I thought."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her. "Babe, now's a good time to tell them."

Now that piqued his attention as well as Naruto, Sakura and Itachi who meowed and hissed at once. "What is it?" Sasuke demanded, thinking, _What have you guys been up to all this time? Does this have to do with being back in town just "passing through"? I see it in your eyes now. You guys do know something..._

"Yeah, what is it?" Naruto asked, lip curling. "If you guys had something to do with this -" He was stopped by Sakura.

"Naruto, keep your voice down. And I agree, you all have some explaining to do," she said harshly, narrowing her eyes at Suigetsu since he was the one who opened his mouth. "Hanaru is in trouble while we waste all our time."

Karin gulped before clearing her throat. "If we stay here while we tell you guys, we're gonna get caught. Maybe take this back at your place like I said, Sasuke."

 **Yup, we get into the hilarious but dangerous search and rescue like "My Brother the Pig" had (and certain lines upon arriving at the place where Hanaru is being held).**

 **How many of you were surprised that OROCHIMARU and the Sound Four were the abductors - and what does he have planned now? :S (bites nails nervously)**

 **Originally, I'd planned to have only kitty Itachi abducted, but it seemed a bit random and was hard to do justice, so it ended up being both him and Hanaru - and he escapes victorious to bring the others back. :D Like when Toto ran to the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion to retrieve Dorothy. We shall see how this goes now...**


	15. Shedding the Skin

**There is a mention of STDs and prostitution at the beginning, but not a lot.**

Chapter Fifteen

Shedding the Skin

Back at the Uchiha apartment on university campus instead of being out there was more than Naruto Uzumaki could bear. His sister was still out there, in that damned abandoned shell of a weapons shop. He shuddered to think about the irony of _sound_ once being used against enemies in medieval and ancestral times since.

But he knew why they were all here.

"So, what do the three of you know?" Sasuke asked impatiently, if doing his best to stay calm just for now. He sat with Itachi in his lap, Sakura on his right and Naruto on the other end, with the other three on the opposite of them. _Cousin Karin and the lot of them do have explaining. I can smell it off even if Suigetsu wouldn't have opened his blab..._

"Well, you know, after we all went our separate ways," Suigetsu stated casually, leaning back across the other sofa, "both Karin and I did a bit of this and that, until one day we had some trouble we ended up becoming a part of solving, by accident maybe -"

Karin cut him off sharply. "Suigetsu, now isn't a good time to sugar-coat everything, or to stall!" She cleared her throat then and straightened her posture.

"After graduation, my mother died from a disease she got from one of her many guys -" She paused there for a moment, the blush seen, making Naruto swallow at the sensitivity of the topic. The family knew her mother had been a prostitute while doing her best to raise her only daughter, but let's say she wasn't someone you would invite for the holidays or even graduation day. Karin picked up. "- I had just gotten into Behavioral Sciences and Suigetsu became a rookie, and this is where...Orochimaru comes in."

 _Oh, God, it's..._

Then Sasuke was the one to break the thick silence penetrating the air, the only sounded having been Itachi's angry meows and leaping off his brother's lap to sit in Naruto's.

"O-Orochimaru?!"

Suigetsu nodded, baring his teeth. "Yeah, the bastard always had been under suspicion that he was behind 'unorthodox experiments', but no one was ever able to obtain concrete proof as you all know. Rumors speculated after the murders of Fugaku Uchiha and his wife -" He nervously looked at Sasuke who narrowed his eyes. "- that Orochimaru had been conducting...human experimentation, but this was kept from the attention of the public, so not to cause mass hysteria," he finished bitterly. "Because that's when my father came in that pushed me to join in on this. He'd gone missing during the summer two years ago, and his body was found mangled and deformed...I don't know if I can repeat what he looked like, because we hardly recognized him."

"It was what a human being should NEVER appear as, and we wondered what kind of sicko could have done something like this," Karin added for him, her blush deepening to a madder shade of red to match her hair and eyes. "Because his dad had been a member of Orochimaru's division when he was still a member of the government staff. He'd overseen the businesses of my field as well as new ways to save people's lives - but it seemed he had other means behind that." Her eyes darkened then and there.

"It had seemed that your father," she said to Sasuke, "saw all of that when he had been called in due to equipment malfunction; he'd found whatever it was that he shouldn't have, and it cost him and his wife's lives."

"It would have cost me and my brother's had our uncles not stepped in," Sasuke finished, closing his eyes as painful memories resurfaced behind them. Watching, Naruto was suddenly gripped by old anger that grew to the point of over boiling like lava.

 _The bastard that killed me and Hanaru's parents - and Sasuke and Itachi's - he's back here in Konoha...and he has my_ nee-chan. _He's going to pay for this._

~o~

"You're the one who killed my parents, and Sasuke and Itachi's."

 _Girl, what the hell are you doing? You're talking to the man who had them butchered!_

She'd only been eleven years old, but she would never forget the name of the man - or his face from the television. Naruto couldn't either. When it came down to your parents being taken away from you at a young age, there could never be forgiveness. She and her brother had been at school, when they were both picked up by Jiraiya who had a grim expression and watered eyes that he tried to hold back for his grandkids' sakes - and that was when both of them, perceptive and sensitive, had the horrible feeling because they'd been told their parents' job was dangerous sometimes, but Minato and Kushina were so dynamic you'd think they'd be untouchable.

 _I never knew Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, but Itachi told me his father had been a hard-ass - but still a good man to his family and kept the business on its feet. And his mother was the sweetest angel sent down from above. This fiend took everything from us all..._

 _...yet he's also the reason we are all together._

Orochimaru chuckled before turning around and pulling a chair from outside the circle, the bottoms of the legs squeaking loudly across the unforgiving floor. The back was turned her way, and he sat down like that, resting his arms across and then placing his chin atop as he continued to gaze upon her like that. "If I were a lesser man, I would have said yes. But we both know I didn't do the deed by my own hand."

"No, you had another do your dirty work."

"Ah, yes." His eyes closed as he inhaled through his nose, remembering a fond time. "Kabuto. It was a pity he had to take the fall for the one who sent him off. He was like family to me, but as we all know, sacrifices must be made." _How DARE you speak about letting others take the fall so lightly, you sick, rotten son of a bitch!_

Hanaru clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "First my fiancée's parents, then my own. The first because the man who was supposed to be my father-in-law had accidentally found what he shouldn't have, and then my mom and dad because they were the ones with the guts to fight and put your ass away for good," she sneered. He wasn't going to hit her, but if she could just hit a nerve somehow for the fun of it...

He snickered. "Fiery, just like both your parents, Hana-chan." She bristled at the adoring nickname that only _Itachi_ and her brother would call her and had the right to - _Itachi, I hope you made it safe._

If she went on about her parents and Itachi's, she might be giving him the upper hand, however...

"Since I might find out eventually..." She let the sentence hang. Golden irises lit up with delight as if he'd known she would ask.

"I anticipated that eventually, as you put it," Orochimaru answered, leaning back a bit. "To keep it in a manner you would understand - not to offend your intelligence - but for years, I was beneath the department conducting experiments, and it would have revolutionized everything had old man Sarutobi not found me out...had he not planted a spy on me and sold me out," he hissed furiously, and his hands closed into fists in which skin stretched over bone.

 _Sarutobi...as in_ Hiruzen _Sarutobi?_

If her memory was correct, Old Man Sarutobi was her grandparents' sensei when they were all younger, and before that he'd trained under Tobirama Senju - the younger brother of her and Naruto's great-grandfather on Tsunade's side. In short, she hadn't seen the old man since her parents were killed, but he'd been very kind to her and Naruto. He'd been the last mayor within their local government before not even two years ago...

 _Oh, God, now I remember._

In the years after her parents and the Uchihas were killed, Orochimaru had disappeared without a trace, but very few seemed to know what became of him, and she and Naruto didn't want to know because they'd thought all their lives he'd always get away with it...but now it turned out he'd fallen from grace, but not in the most satisfactory way possible. She should be pleased he no longer had his secured position - but where he was now, he could do anything he wanted without the law finding out. _Oh, moving place to place, typical but making sense. I don't want to know when this happened, nor do I care - but what else happened?_ "Did you kill him?" she asked softly, keeping her chin lifted at him.

"Hm? Sarutobi-sensei? Why, yes," he answered matter-of-factly and without regret, "as well as the one who acted as the double agent. In fact, the poor unfortunate afterwards became my latest test subject. What I have been doing is trying to unlock one of the greatest secrets of nature, one of the keys to the greatest of strengths never before seen in our days - the stuff you would see only in your nightmares and the oldest legends. I'm sure you have heard of the...Curse Mark? The Reanimation Technique? Everything with becoming immortal..."

If Hanaru thought he couldn't get any sicker, she'd been wrong.

"You're...sick..."

~o~

"He was experimenting on the sick and dying from every source he could gather, having connections in those places," Karin was explaining over a cup of chamomile Sakura made over the stove, the steam even reaching the face to bring some sweat through the pores in your face. "Suigetsu's dad was the spy the late Mayor Sarutobi implanted, then to report back to him. Everything from using certain poisons to implant the 'Curse Mark' to attempting to revive the dead or those on the verge of death...it was what Orochimaru had been up to under our very noses."

Sasuke knew Naruto wasn't faring any better than him, but the fact his own parents had been killed because his father had accidentally looked where he shouldn't have...in the very same office of one corrupt snake... _he got away with it when he should have paid...that BASTARD..._

After all these years, old pain was slowly resurfacing. If Hanaru was also finding this out, then he pitied her more than ever. But if she wasn't doing anything to get herself killed before they returned for her in the morning...

"I don't know if I want to know what this 'Curse Mark' is," Sasuke bit out disgustedly. "All I care about is that we get my sister-in-law back, and that monster goes down like he should have a long time ago." _Vengeance...I never thought I would feel this. It's long been down, but now it's coming forth just like that._ He ignored the angry mew from Itachi as well as the narrowed gazes of his wife and Naruto on either side.

"Jeez, Sasuke, this was also my father killed for doing the right thing - and you think he deserved it?" Suigetsu asked angrily. "You think you're the only one who lost your family?"

He closed his eyes and said nothing. He deserved that.

"Suigetsu is right, Sasuke," Karin concurred icily, "but now is not the time to continue that. Anyway, his father secretly transported all information to Mayor Sarutobi-san, and the mayor rushed in without hesitation with his ANBU force in tow - and a fight had ensued. Orochimaru was wounded, but he survived somehow. Except...the mayor wasn't lucky," she finished, eyes downcast. "He couldn't bring himself to kill his own former student and member of his own staff; that was his downfall."

"So, that monster got away with murder of his own hands," Naruto spat venomously, eyes wild and red around the rims as though a demon was taking over him. "My parents, Sasuke's, the mayor's...so-called 'patients'...what else, huh?! How much longer is this going on? He takes away without a second thought! If the law can't catch him, who else will?" His gaze flashed lividly around them. "And my sister might as well become his next intended if we don't make it to her on time!" He calmed down when Itachi moved to put his paws on Naruto's mouth, silencing him. It was too cute, but Sasuke gave his brother their signature "hn" as thanks.

Despite his annoyance, Sasuke agreed. This man who wasted human life for his own gain, murdered his own sensei and superior as well - if he couldn't be touched by the very position he once had control within, then...

 _Then that means_ we _must._

~o~

 _He should have died from that shot he received...but no, a good man whose heart got the best of him had to suffer that. I can't blame Sarutobi-san for not pulling the killing shot, but damn it!_

"You killed your own master," she said frostily, turning her attention from him now, to the side at nothing in particular. What else mattered now? He literally had no shame in his atrocities - her family, her love's, the other families who may have suffered losses, the mayor...

"The master I shared with your grandparents."

Hanaru felt her eyes bulge at the blatant and shocking revelation. _What - WHAT?!_ "What are you talking about?" she hissed. "How did you even -"

He had switched his position at some point. Now he sat all the way around, mimicking her pose. "A long time ago. I'm surprised Jiraiya and Tsunade never told you about me." A look of slight hurt passed over his features, making her snort and bring her knees together even though her skirt went a little past the knees enough to hide everything he wasn't allowed to glimpse.

"Maybe because you're a major asshole who deserves to die in a fire."

Orochimaru's lip curled then and there before it reverted back to that inane smirk. "Well, you have your grandmother's tongue, I will give you that - but your mother was only her daughter-in-law. I remember because I was at the wedding of your parents when times were different and much more 'peaceful'. I confess your father hadn't really seen me as trustworthy, but since I was an old friend of his parents, he didn't complain. Your mother, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to threaten me with her 'killer fist', as she charmingly put it. How women have strengthened today from the past." He wistfully sighed.

"I really didn't want to kill your parents, or even Sarutobi-sensei, but it was necessary."

"Just as Itachi and Sasuke's parents were?!" she exploded with fury. Whatever sob story he had, he could shove it. It NEVER excused what he did.

He continued, unfazed. "Like I have said, my dear, Fugaku Uchiha slipped his nose where he shouldn't have. As I was saying, in terms of Sarutobi...he couldn't even kill me, so I gave him mercy." Was it her imagination, or did Hanaru see a slight clouding of those eyes? "He was the father I had after I lost my parents when I was a bit younger than you had been at the time you lost yours. They had been taken away by the plague, and I wished at the time I should have died with them...but in that terrible grief, I found means to ensure their losses were not in vain."

Oh, now it clicked: there was always reason behind madness, so was he trying to tell her that he was on this insane path because he'd lost his parents at a young age? If that was the case, then Hanaru Uzumaki refused to see any similarities between them. What this monster was telling her in order to justify himself wasn't going to make her weak and fall into his trap. She felt her lips curl back, which was enough to tell him that she didn't give a rat's ass about this. He hummed and gracefully stood up.

"I see you don't care in the slightest. Oh, but I see you understand - but you're too resistant just like the rest of your family. I'm very impressed..." Then his smile widened, telling her she was doomed.

"I wonder if you will be resistant as you are now when we begin as soon as I have all the necessary equipment moved here. It's been quite the travel from Kyoto where the last experiment went wrong and fled my grasp. I must ensure this doesn't happen again."

~o~

 _A hell of a night, and now we strike._

They'd spent it going through the plan. Besides what else they'd told of Orochimaru's human experimentation and the attempt to reanimate, Karin and Suigetsu had been undercover right after the latter's father's loss, and recently, Juugo had been the one to flee when Orochimaru had been traced to Kyoto, but the snake had slipped away from his previous location. The mostly quiet man had trouble speaking of what happened to him, but he was the pair's responsibility now. He was also their link and aid to this case of theirs. _A rookie and a scientist-to-be after the madman with shadowy backup after them? How funny._

Now he was back here in Konoha. Where he would be for awhile, it seemed, and it just made things easier for all of them.

 _I'm trying to be a lawyer like Dad was, but it seems we're taking the law into our own hands now. It's wrong...but we have to. Even if we get this bastard in jail, maybe there's a chance he'd get a damned good lawyer to clean himself off..._ He stopped himself then and there, refusing to think about the corruption of the system today.

Naruto had called for someone to pick up his dad's car to be repaired, and it would be ready again by next week, so until then, he would ask for assistance from Sakura or _nee-chan_ when they got her back. But first things first...

The group stood a few blocks from the street, when the morning sun was just coming up. Sakura had called in sick just for today - just this once on her record - and Sasuke was with them, along with Itachi in kitty glory, in his brother's arms once again. _Hinata won't be involved, no matter how much I wish she were. She's my sister's best friend, and I love her, so I can't let anything happen to her._ Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin were there, as well. Everything was in motion. There was no time to wait.

"Alright," Sasuke announced as de facto, "let's get to it."

 **When I finally reached the point where Orochimaru mentioned his selling out by his own former teacher (like original nin-canon), it had been difficult to bring to life in terms of his horrendous experiments we all know, as well as Lord Third Sarutobi's place in these times. In order to do that, I did research the best I could on the Japanese government today. Among, the mayoral position in villages and other rural locations is termed for four years at max.**

 **Anyway, the group to the rescue now. :D**


	16. To the Rescue!

**June 9th was none other than Itachi's birthday. :) I would have put this chapter up done on time, but it would have been rushed. Rushing is what we can't afford, for mistakes are bound to happen. With the action this chapter has, it needs to attain the care that I still need to give, so here it is - and as a late birthday gift to Itachi. :D**

 **We are introduced now to what the gang arms themselves with, and they are used today in Japanese weaponry (going back to their time in WWII and post).**

Chapter Sixteen

To the Rescue!

Hanaru...his sister-in-law... _in here..._

No matter how many times he thought about it, it didn't lessen the tension. This was an all-new adventure, exciting in a sense - but also dangerous. The six of them against five, the other group more dangerous and skilled. Naruto was right: what did a group of wannabes have a chance against these bastards?

 _Like hell I'll let that overtake my line of thought._

He never fought hand to hand, not like when he and Naruto did as children. However, he did learn to use a gun in case the need for self-defense came; Itachi had taught him before everything slipped between them. So, when his attention laid on the rear trunk opened in the back of Suigetsu and Karin's car, he was beyond ecstatic at the choices which had harkened back to the times of the second World War and after, notably Howa Type 64 and the equipped assault 89 which had become more widely used than the previous. It was a surprise the Defense Agency still had what they could of their originals.

He enjoyed the feel of the rifle when it was handed to him. The look on Naruto's face when he found out he would be having a weapon: priceless.

"So, cousin, Itachi and I go in to find Hana-chan, and the rest of you deal with Orochimaru and his kids," Naruto stated when he was handed the lighter 64, more comfortable but able to use. _I just hope he doesn't end up accidentally shooting one of us instead of the targets._

Sasuke smirked. They were going commando, were they? He never thought he'd say he liked this way: guns blazing, rescuing the damsel in distress, killing the bad guys and saving the town they loved.

Sakura gave her choice of a magnum a proud smirk, carrying all the firepower she needed instead of a heavy firearm. She shared a quick high-five with Karin for the option. Which left Suigetsu and Juugo together with what Sasuke had. Now that they were all ready to go, Itachi did the honors of jumping onto Naruto's shoulders and wrapped around him behind like a boa, watching intently and impatient to get this over with.

All of them were around the corner of the old building, watching as the two men were on guard. One was what they could all classify as the slight twin of Choji, for he seemed to enjoy eating on the job - he had a brown rice ball in hand which provoked his partner, but he didn't seem affected when he was called out on it. "You have nothing better to say than Tayuya, which you're incapable of - and I'm grateful for that, Kidomaru," they heard the fat guy say. _Tayuya...must be the only lady they have. Huh. At least we have their names, because they might not be missed at all. Why else would they be with a snake like Orochimaru?_ Sasuke held his snort in.

"Alright," Suigetsu whispered, "Juugo and I both get these guys while you go in and do the rest."

The show was impressive when both men carried it out, entering a brief shootout - the fat guy getting one to his ass and the other to his thigh, making all laugh to each other - before they were knocked cold and then tied up by Juugo and Suigetsu, which was their cue to hurry into the cold, darkened place poorly lit with a fritzing electrical system.

~o~

"Man, this is creepier than the movies," Naruto said with a shudder. Just knowing this was distances from the rest of peaceful Konoha - in a matter of time - with the rest of them facing off tough bad guys in a real life situation. Magic, demons, and now a damsel in distress...oh, yeah, you can't pretend nothing wasn't going on.

He never used a gun before, but good thing he had the cat around his shoulders and had the rifle in his hands, pointed in every direction. All of them had protective weaponry for this, but as for who was coming their way, who would it be? Orochimaru himself? Or that bitch mentioned... _Tay-u_ -

The five of them - Itachi around his shoulders - were crowded together in a bunch before a crude, obnoxious feminine voice broke the air.

"You idiots are obviously worse than my boys, coming in like this - thinking that your damn guns will be the ones to protect you from us. What are you doing here? Oh, hell no, don't tell me: you're here for the bitch."

Naruto exploded and seethed. How dare she have the nerve to speak about Hanaru like that?! "Who the hell are you calling a bitch, _bitch_? That's my sister you're dissing!"

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed.

The unseen female snarled somewhere. "Listen, you blond brat, I don't have time for your crap, even if it's under Orochimaru's orders!"

"Orders to take my sister-in-law for his next disgusting scheme?" Sasuke countered.

"Ya goddamned right, Uchiha brat!" the female spat back, along with the click of an arms and a vicious snicker. "Maybe he'll let us finish off your family line by offing you and your brother very soon." That alone was enough to make Naruto angrier, but Sasuke was worse. He growled through his teeth only to be stopped by Sakura.

"Sasuke, she's baiting both of you. Just go on and let me handle her."

"Awww, do you have your little bitch fight all your battles, wittle Sasuke?"

Now that even pushed Sakura's buttons if not her husband. She pulled out her magnum and clicked off the safety. "Alright, bitch," she yelled, face red as a tomato, "you're going to get it now. Go guys!"

"SAKURA!" Sasuke roared when the firing began, and his wife rolled forward into a ball before she hid behind a table and a collection of old, dusted furniture for cover. It had become a one-on-one version of a warzone, but they had no time to stick and watch the show, to enjoy the catfight between the wife of his best friend and the crazy bitch who insulted every single one of them.

 _One more remains, I think: Orochimaru. But who will take him while the rest of us get my_ nee-chan?

~o~

He did not like this one bit. His wife was back there, in a firearms one-on-one with an unseen witch - how could he forget her last night? - who opened her mouth, insulted him, his parents and his brother, Naruto and Hanaru...and you know what happened when you messed with even one of them. _You mess with ALL of us._

But Sakura could take care of herself. She used to need him to save her skin as kids, but now her fist could kill you in a heartbeat.

This place had yet to be completely finished, for there were labeled crates and boxes, detailing they were products of Tokyo - and a handful from Hong Kong - shipped here. How the hell did he manage that, unless he still had loyal contacts somewhere, and his strings to pull were the right ones...? _You really want to target our entire town, don't you? Well, maybe I'll be the one to finish you off and not feel guilt about it._ He'd never taken a life before, but if it did happen, then he wouldn't feel guilt if that person deserved it.

Now they all came to a door which could lead to one place now that they'd combed every inch they could up here: the basement.

"She might be," Karin said softly, "but how can we know for sure? This place could have her anywhere..."

At the same time she was opening the door for all of them, a chilling voice called down to them, and it wasn't through any speakers. However, the owner sounded far away and near at the same time. Serpents slithered along their senses. _"Dear Sasuke, Naruto - and Karin, of course. What a surprise to see you here."_

"Orochimaru," Sasuke hissed, cocking his gun. "Where is Hanaru?" First they find her, and then he'd go out for that bastard himself...

 _"Oh, don't fear for her. But if you must know, I assure you that you will not find her in the basement. I did have her there last night, but it wouldn't have been comfortable for her all night, or even accommodating. Rest assured, she is safe elsewhere on this floor, but I am not with you, but beyond you..."_

 _He is in the basement._

The air became colder than subzero.

Sasuke was the one to open the door. "Right, I will go down there." He nodded at Naruto's attempt to flash a smile, but he didn't really need it. "If I am not back, then go without me and take Sakura away with you."

Naruto's eyes bulged. "W-wha- _what_?!" he cried. "Seriously, _teme,_ you'll risk your life before we get your brother back to being human?!" He sighed sharply. There was no time for this.

"Naruto, just go. Save Hanaru, and that's all."

"He's right, cousin," Karin told him, taking his arm. Itachi mewled and jumped off the blond to land in his brother's arms. Sasuke laughed as the kitty purred against him. _My brother...you used to be there for me, then we were broken apart by this man down these stairs._

Sasuke gave Itachi a kiss on the back of the head before letting him jump back to Naruto, watching him and Karin hurry in the other direction before taking a deep breath and began gliding down the stairs.

His footsteps were stealth, but they were heard to his own ears. Sasuke held his weapon against his chest. He felt like a hunter stalking the snake in the forest - even if the snake was nothing he ever encountered before. He remembered Fugaku once brought both his sons along with Madara and Izuna to do "snake hunting" - as one means to help his sons grow, because this was what he had done as a boy. Sasuke had been six then, and he almost had been bitten by one of the moccasins had his father not caught it in his trap. He'd shaken his head at the fact his youngest son had a long way to come. Sasuke had been too young to remember, but Madara had recounted to him a few years after Fugaku and Mikoto's death.

 _Now I get to make sure this snake will be the prey to the hawk._

"OROCHIMARU!"

No answer, which infuriated him. He didn't want to be the one caught in his own game where he wanted to have all the cards. "You piece of slime," he snarled, finger on the trigger, "you are going down."

He finally got an answer: a hollow chuckle.

"Now that's the spirit that I'd have hoped to see in the nursling of the Uchiha."

All his life he'd been called foolish, self-centered and other things, but even "nursling" pushed his limits. Sasuke, however, bit his tongue and raised his rifle about, seeing not one trace of the man who was hiding in the shadows. He must have been enjoying the sight of the "little bird" seeking out his first kill out of the nest. Sasuke couldn't help but crack a small grin to himself at the irony. If he got the snake down and made big brother proud when he was human again...

"Then come out and show yourself, you bastard!"

"Oh, but if I do, you will be paralyzed in fear."

Sasuke snorted. "Try me." He was tempted to pull the trigger already and get this done with. Now his finger itched, finding the will to do just that. When it happened, the surge that flew through him was exhilarating. The shot echoed in his ears. He could hardly stop the pleasurable sensation of his blood pumping. That had felt a whole hell of a lot better than he expected.

But then he saw a narrow flash of white before it was gone. What the hell WAS that?!

There was no way that could be...

 _Was that Orochimaru?_

One thing he did catch for sure: shimmering white... _scales._ Narrow but identifiable. _A tail._ Sasuke felt his eyes widen in horror. What monstrosity did Orochimaru unleash now?

It happened faster than he comprehended. A lash of the same white came out to strike out his rifle, out of his hands, and the weapon hit the floor with a clang - and a BANG followed as the bullets hit the wall ahead. Sasuke gritted his teeth and was on the verge of diving to recover when something _hard_ struck him on the back behind and onto his stomach. He was stunned and furious at the same time. He should never have let his guard down like that! He was frustrated with himself, but now he found himself on his back and face to face with a pair of yellow eyes over him, set within an angular face covered with scales - human but not at the same time. Long black hair fell freely over both shoulders. Downward did his eyes travel to see a lightly muscled, masculine frame covered with more scales of lavender-tinted white, ultimately ending with a TAIL curling inward and around to support the body it was attached to at the waist.

Sasuke saw the face of the man who ordered the deaths of his and Itachi's parents, and Hanaru and Naruto's. But that was not the worst of it.

Orochimaru was an abominable combination of snake _and_ man.

~o~

Only a night and the morning, she'd been here. She'd been taken out of the basement after her "interrogation" and placed in this room. Orochimaru must have been smart to think that harming her in any way would have been damaging to his plans. He knew she was Tsunade and Jiraiya's granddaughter, for one. And he hadn't let his lackeys near her, either.

Which she found herself still thinking about. _To think he acquired them through illegal means and his connections. They'd fought other prisoners to the death, having been imprisoned for drug abuse, selling and murder - even prostitution. They're so strong the average thug won't match to them. If I even tried to escape, I won't even manage to kick one of the guys in the balls if I could..._

She hadn't been able to clean up, since half of her had no heart to ask for it; besides, who else would be kind to take her to a public bathroom or back to her apartment to clean up? Or at least bring cleaning supplies?

Hanaru had fallen asleep on an old mattress that had been covered with blankets bottom and over her, so she was comfortable enough. Orochimaru was attempting to earn her trust, but he was doing it poorly. She really tried to sleep and failed much of the time, because of the knowledge of what would happen to her...

She'd been given takeout from some local sushi place, and the rice and salmon bits she liked better than anything else. Itachi would have craved the cabbage and anything with seaweed. That had been before dawn broke; good thing her watch hadn't broken in the struggles.

 _Itachi must not have made it. If he had, they would have come by now. No, wait, I can't think like this. I know my brother and our friends, and I know Itachi would never let himself get in harm's way._

As if her prayers had been answered, the door was opening, and light washed in. Her back was facing the door. If one of those bastards of his - or the snake himself - were there, then she would give silent treatment...but she was wrong.

" _Nee-chan!_ "

Naruto was here! And he wasn't alone. Karin zoomed in after him, both diving before her as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. And Itachi! Hanaru cried with happiness that her kitty fiancée purred and meowed happily against her. "Baby, I knew you would do it!" she told him, holding him close. He squirmed, but not because he didn't enjoy the embrace. He licked the side of her face, rough tongue making her shiver delightfully. "Where are the rest?" she asked her brother and cousin in front of her.

Karin pushed her glasses back into place, lowering the huge firearm she carried. "Juugo and Suigetsu got the two lowlifes guarding the entrance, and Sakura is handling the foul-mouthed bitch, and Sasuke..." She stopped there, making Hanaru's breath hitch. There was no way Sasuke could be happy facing Sakon...which meant...

"Cousin...who is it?"

Naruto gulped. "You really want to know?" he asked nervously, which more than enough gave her the answer. Hanaru quickly shook her head.

"Your friend Sasuke is engaging Lord Orochimaru. I have to say it's been a hell of a show so far - but sadly I get to miss it because I have to deal with you three."

Oh, Kami, there stood Sakon himself in the doorway, leering at them. Naruto was on the verge of passing out, and Karin narrowed her eyes. Itachi hissed and arched his back, making the man raise an eyebrow. "Oh, great, a kitty cat. Tayuya hates them, and if she saw that thing, she'd fire away like there is no tomorrow," he stated, hand on his hip - and where his gun was. _Yeah,_ Hanaru thought disgustedly, _she tried to kill him._ She gently pushed Itachi behind her, but he didn't budge. He wasn't afraid of this bastard in front of them all. Karin and Naruto stood then, holding up their rifles at the man who laughed and shook his head. "Too bad that I like cats myself." Itachi meowed angrily and extended his claws, making Sakon laugh more.

"Alright, scumbag," Karin snarled, "I am a member of the police force, so if you will drop your weapon as you are outnumbered -"

Sakon barked. "Oh, outnumbered, am I? I'm afraid you thought wrong, Red." Suddenly, his face contorted as if in pain. The sounds to match escaped his lips as the most macabre thing occurred before them. Hanaru slipped off the bed and behind her brother.

When none of them were looking, Itachi took this opportunity to slip out through the door.

"Oh, God, what the hell is this?!" Naruto yelped, threatening to drop his weapon as he, his sister and cousin all watched with petrified horror as something round to resemble a hump formed on his back, beneath his left shoulder blade, before it shaped itself into a _human head._ The THING tore through his faded gray shirt...and it was indeed another head. The same face, same hair and so on. Rivers and droplets of blood dribbled from hair to over flesh. Naruto was right: what the hell was this monstrosity?! Hanaru had to try and envision what Orochimaru had done, if he had...

"Uzumaki family," Sakon announced after pulling himself together, standing straight, "meet my twin -"

The extra head which sprouted from his shoulder like a stalk bared his canines and answered in a throaty voice from not being used for awhile. "Ukon," he rasped, licking his lips at the sight of the three.

"WHAAAAT?!" Her eyes became white balls as her brother's and cousin's. They all cried in unison. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THIS?!"

Both "twins" chuckled. Was this a demented conjoined or what? "Oh, Ukon and I were born far differently than the usual twins in our state," Sakon said matter-of-factly, "though he's more dirty-tongued than I am, which is why he is kept subdued much of the time until I really need him. But really, I can't live without my dearest brother, isn't that right, _nii-san_?" He reached behind him and stroked the other's cheek in an affectionate manner that made the three cringe. Hanaru was familiar with conjoined twins, but this crossed the lines.

"That's right, brother," the other agreed, before twisting his features. "So, which of these Uzumaki brats do we take first? The hostage - or her brother?" His eyes gleamed when they landed on Karin. "I think Orochimaru-sama would be interested in her if we can't kill her -" He was interrupted when Karin made the move and lowered her rifle, firing a shot at his feet and making him and his joined twin scream at once as they both fell facedown.

Hanaru had never felt so good seeing him down. She ran over and kicked him in the side, near where his twin was, and he groaned in pain as he rolled over onto his back to spit a little blood up at her. "Yeah, how does it feel?" With that Hanaru took more relish in delivering a swift kick to his groin, which made her brother flinch. Sakon and Ukon groaned and reached to hold onto themselves. Yes, she used "themselves" rather than "himself", for this grotesque combination of brothers in the most demented way possible.

However, he recovered when his leg swiped out, and he struck her beneath. _Damn it!_ But Hanaru whipped and switched positions, flipping over him and landing on both feet at the same time he leaped back to both feet, in time to meet Naruto's rifle at him - but his powerful fist swiped out to grab the end where the ammo would have fired if Naruto had not been beaten to it. Oh, but they would show this double piece of shit, right?

Karin had some defense training, so she packed the two a good double fist punch to the back of the neck, bringing him down again before rising down to pick up both her rifle and his fallen gun, tossing the latter to Hanaru.

For her to hold a weapon like this was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. A part of her wanted to pull the trigger on him here and now, do them all a favor, but it wouldn't sit well for the authorities who needed accounts on the man they were still after all these years. Orochimaru and his bandits needed to be brought to justice the right way - and to kill him if he escaped was only a necessary alternative.

From the looks of it, cousin Karin had it all under control and a plan of her own.

~o~

"Oh, you're really an actual combination of man and snake," Sasuke pointed out snidely. "That seems fitting for someone as vile as you - always hiding in a cave, away from the world..."

This face betrayed no emotion but smug glee that he was catching on. That tail had swiped out and picked up his fallen weapon which was too far from him to grasp and regain higher ground. That thing had such brute strength to crush the arms in half. A terrible screech and clutter of metal sounded in his ears as he watched the destroyed last hope he had was thrown elsewhere.

The snake had him frozen in his place. Sasuke couldn't move his body if he wanted to. Orochimaru had him frozen in place with simply his eyes.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, you wish to know the grief I felt when I had no choice but to execute your dear mother and father?"

He snarled. "Like I want to hear your excuses!" he shouted.

The other man chuckled as he slithered forward by an inch. "Your sister-in-law said nearly the same thing when I asked her of her parents. I should let you know, Sasuke, that I knew Tsunade and Jiraiya years ago - and I was once great rivals turned friends with the old fool much like you and Naruto Uzumaki are now. How fate works in strange ways, am I right?" He rumbled in his throat. "Tsunade...I admit that I had once been in love with her...but she chose Jiraiya. Quite the opposite of you and your little team..."

Oh, Sasuke knew what he was trying to do. He was well aware of Naruto's old feelings for Sakura, but they'd all been kids. This bastard wasn't going to ruin that friendship right now, like he ruined his relationship with his brother and their lives - _and speaking of which._ Sasuke felt his eyes widen but made sure Orochimaru didn't see.

Itachi stood there frozen on the spot and darting his eyes back and forth between him and the monster.

His big brother in cat form had come to save the day.

Quickly, Sasuke looked up and around - and there he saw it. Above was a storage shelf with a toolbox...in perfect alignment above the snake man's head. The perfect idea came to mind. Quickly, he jerked his head upwards, to which the cat got the idea and hurried to leap over stacked boxes, dusted furniture and the likes. All the while, Orochimaru was still speaking.

"Sasuke, I must say that you are the perfect candidate I was looking for. Given my form, every few years I have to take a new body through very special means necessary. I'm sure you know enough about the rituals of the serpent in terms of digestion and shedding the skin for a new one. Alas, a price to pay for immortality..."

 _A new body to keep yourself immortal...and you devour the poor victim like a snake swallows its prey?! Oh, now you've pushed too far -_

Thank the gods his kitty _aniki_ saved his skin - no pun intended - meowing and shoving off the heavy toolbox without trouble. The thing struck a stunned Orochimaru, whose eyes bulged, and he was out cold as he landed backwards onto the ground with a _thud_. Itachi mewed with triumph at his handiwork, bringing his paw up to lick.

"YES!" Sasuke leaped to his feet, pleased his mobility returned. "Itachi, we gotta find the others and get the hell out of here!" He extended his arms out for his brother to jump from the top and catch him with his claws. "OW, WATCH THE CLAWS!"

 **The last few days have been so stressful I can't repeat it. It's my time of month, as well as family drama, which made bringing this chapter to life so difficult. I hope it was satisfactory. We got two chapters left. :D**


	17. Enemy Escapade

**What I forgot to mention in the last chapter was Itachi knocking out Orochimaru was in thanks to the pig-brother ("My Brother the Pig" the movie) saving his sister from the villainous butcher in the final third of the movie. XD**

Chapter Seventeen

Enemy Escapade

They'd cuffed Sakon and his abnormally attached twin thanks to Karin. The two-headed bastard was knocked out cold thanks to them all whacking him so many times without shooting. There had to be no deaths today. Hanaru had not been there to see her parents shot down, but learning they were never coming back was even worse.

"Great, now what do we do with him - er, them?" Naruto grumbled, pointing his rifle down at the "hostages".

Karin sighed then and there. "Well, I'm going to do what is necessary of a good rookie in training," she said, reaching for her mobile but not pushing any buttons. "We're going to find get a hold of our unit and report all of this - and these bastards behind bars." She gritted her teeth when she finished. "Then it'll all be over, hopefully."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, and maybe he gets a good lawyer to get his ass off," he stated as he slung the rifle over his shoulder and moved to pick up the now unconscious mutant beneath the arms while Karin got the other end. Hanaru was glad she had nothing to do with it, but she had to keep the gun raised at all times. She wondered if any of the others were okay...

It was then and there that she noticed _Itachi_ was missing. _Shit, we were too busy to pay attention to him!_ And then it hit her: maybe he went to go help his brother.

Just how could Itachi help if he was a cat?

"Guys, where did Itachi go?"

Her question was answered by the time they were out of that damned stuffy room - at the same time Sasuke arrived with Itachi meowing and leaping after him. _Whoa, he looks like he got beat._ There were no bruises on his face, but he sure was sweating a load. His arms was lowered, rifle hanging around his shoulder, and he did not lessen his grip. His hair was always all over the place, but it was also plastered to the back of his neck. He made his way over to them with the cat trailing after him. Hanaru felt relief wash over her, kneeling down to scoop the kitty into her arms, holding him close. "Itachi, don't you scare me like that again!" He mewed and nuzzled against her lovingly and apologetically.

" _Teme,_ I thought that snake was going to swallow you whole!" Naruto ran up and threw one arm around the other's shoulder, right after helping Karin lay down the still-unconscious Sakon and his twin. "You didn't kill him...did you?" he asked nervously, breaking off the embrace when the Uchiha didn't respond, only took haggard breaths before answering at last.

"No, dobe...but I wanted to." There was no mistaking the bloodlust in both his tone and his eyes, now worrying her. She knew the feeling too well, and so did her brother, but to kill Orochimaru was too easy.

Naruto's expression became half-hard, Karin gazed at him with sympathy, and Hanaru shared a glance with Itachi in her arms. All of them knew the unspoken truth that words didn't solve every problem. They'd wanted to tell him that murdering the man who _murdered_ their parents wouldn't take their pain away, or that of anyone else whose life the snake ruined. "Where is he now?" she asked Sasuke, walking up to him. She remembered the others, but Suigetsu and Juugo must be fine if they took those two at the front door well, right?

 _Oh, God, Sakura...I hope you're okay. Tayuya, if I see you and if you hurt one of my best friends, I'll shoot your brains out and I will NOT hesitate._ The blood drive pumped with a fury.

"He's still in the basement," Sasuke answered, monotoned. "I locked the door so he couldn't get out."

"How did you get that all-powerful bastard down?" Karin asked, sheer amazed. He gave her a wry smirk.

"Itachi. He knocked a tool box onto his head."

There was a moment of pause before all broke into laughter. Hanaru congratulated Itachi for his genius idea, to which he mewed proudly to and swished his tail about. Naruto laughed loudly and reached to scratch the back of his head; Itachi closed his eyes and purred with pleasure. Suddenly, they were startled by a pained moan. All gasped in shock when they looked down and saw that Sakon and his joined twin were waking up. "Shit!" Karin swore. "Hold on, I'm calling backup. We're not going to handle this by ourselves anymore." She hurried to reach for her mobile again and hastily dialed a number before speaking into it. But Hanaru didn't pay attention as she, her brother and future brother-in-law - as well as kitty man - focused on the double-headed man coming to again. What were they going to do?!

There was the sound of sliding footsteps, telling them they were not alone. And guess who it was - "Sakura!" Naruto hollered, overjoyed and a little alarmed at the sight of the pinkette intact but her white blouse covered with splatters of blood and a darker stain in her left forearm, which she was clutching. She panted heavily as she made way over to them, falling into Sasuke's arms when he came to be beside her. He pressed a tender, relieved kiss to her temple, and she returned one to his chin.

Hanaru saw that her friend had been shot in the arm, but it wasn't serious; it still needed tending to, however. By this time, Karin had shut off her phone. "They'll be here in five minutes," she said, "and we all secure this place then give the statements." She turned her attention to Sakura. "Where's Tayuya?"

"Knocked out," the doctor-in-training answered, still holding onto her husband. "She shot me, and I grabbed it from her before knocking her out in the face. But I may have accidentally broke her nose." She cracked a half-grin meant to laugh but also trying to be serious since she was a medical student and was supposed to be traumatized at almost taking a life when it wasn't even fatal. _Serves you right, bitch,_ Hanaru thought proudly to the skank who tried to shoot and kill her precious Itachi the previous night.

~o~

So, the cops came and went that day, which had been utter hell and heaven in a mix. So many questions to be asked, statements taken, and Naruto knew one day when he became a lawyer that he'd face these reports given in his hands for a client in court.

A small part of him worried about this getting out, since all of them were involved in this, and his sister had just been rescued. But Karin had revealed that she'd had the backup all along, and they did not wish to be alerted lest Orochimaru and his group discovered and packed up to flee again. Suigetsu and Juugo were assisting with taking in the four, but Sakon was a special case because of the morbid addition that was his brother's head protruding from behind his body. He was going to be an interesting one for them to study as well as to try along with his cohorts.

Sakura was being treated in the arm for the bullet, and this would also mean she had to get to the hospital to treat her arm. Which meant she might not be there tomorrow night when they got Itachi back to his real form... _we're finally making it happen. I knew it all along._ Naruto held his grin in, because right now they were all surrounded by cops and the ambulance taking Sakura to the emergency room, then Tayuya for her broken nose - and under supervision, of course - while the rest of them would be able to take Hanaru home as it was apparent she had no psychological or physical trauma, and her word was as true as her calm attitude.

She did not once let go of Itachi, who also didn't want to be released either as long as she was being questioned about her captivity. Sasuke did not like being here any more than the rest of them did, but he provided his statement as well as kissed Sakura before letting her go with the ambulance, promising to come by later to check up.

But with all that out of the way, that led to one major problem.

 _Orochimaru got away._

But it was no fault of theirs. The bastard was sly and sneaky. The snake always found away to slip away, in and out, undetected. Naruto never got to see the thing Sasuke had seen him become, which made him sick as he saw the _teme_ was. "I should have been there to help you take that bastard down then," he'd said in a hushed voice when they were alone. Sasuke had glared at him.

"There was nothing you could have done to help, dobe. You knew what you had to do here. Besides, he was stronger than me - but then Itachi saved me." At that, his expression softened... _like he was grateful his brother as a cat came to his aid._

He had been dropped off at his sister and Itachi's apartment, along with the trio in the back of Karin and Suigetsu's car, as they'd been given permission. Juugo had stayed behind to assist with the crime scene and evidence being taken and secured.

"We're going to get that monster soon, promise," Suigetsu told them, almost too cheerily that Karin glared red-eyed at him.

"Idiot, being like my cousin back there isn't going to work. They've all been through enough."

He glowered back at her annoying self. "Like you need to remind me," he returned, and Hanaru raised her voice.

"The both of you, yes, we've been through enough." She was still petting and rubbing on Itachi who was on the verge of passing out in her lap. "We just need to get back home and in time for tomorrow night so we can turn this one back." _Assuming Orochimaru doesn't find us again before then. We did barge in and ruin his plans. You know what they say when you mess with someone dangerous as him..._

If he could do this to his parents and Sasuke's, then he might use his own hand on all of them if all his idiots were locked up.

He sat on the right of his sister, and Sasuke was on the other, glaring thoughtfully out the window as they went deeper into Konoha, where people in the streets were smiling and enjoying life, not knowing what had happened to this certain group of young people the previous night and this morning when dawn passed. Now it was striking the middle of the day. Already, they were exhausted. Naruto could use some ramen, and his _nee-chan_ needed something, too, if she hadn't been fed, because he would love nothing more than to kill every one of her tormentors including the one still out there.

It was then and there that Sasuke spoke up that he remembered his motorcycle was still parked where he'd left it as they went to retrieve Hana-chan. He asked Karin and Suigetsu to take him back so he could ride it back home. If Sakura was at the hospital, then Naruto could hope none of this got back to Izuna Uchiha back at the family store. Sasuke would really get it then.

He turned his attention to Hanaru who had let down Itachi when the three of them were inside the apartment. Her shining hair was dull with uncleanliness due to being in a dark, smothering environment, and her pristine blouse was splotched with light brown dust. "Sister, you should clean yourself up while I make the ramen," he offered. She gave a light smile and nod without a word and turned to make way for her bedroom. Itachi stayed where he was, meowing and sitting on his hind legs, bringing a paw up to lick. Naruto chuckled and knelt down to scratch him behind the ears.

"Tomorrow is the night, Itachi. You ready?" The cat blinked and bobbed his head up and down before turning to go into the room, jumping onto the bed which Naruto saw through the opened door. The Uchiha was beyond happy his woman was safe and sound, and he could not wait to be human again.

~o~

Hanaru was so exhausted after the numerous questions that she wanted to just go to sleep. Karin and Suigetsu were going to face whatever their superiors would have on them for the escape of the ringleader himself, and Sasuke had gone home after being taken back to retrieve his cycle, leaving her with her brother and fiancée whose last day was today - none other than Saturday.

The day had come - or rather, the _night_ was coming.

Naruto had been kind enough to make ramen, and when Hanaru got out of her shower, she chose instead to make way for the phone and calling her and Hinata's boss to tell him what happened. He'd been pressed by Hinata before this when one of his best employees didn't come in and was assumed to be sick - and now to hear her abduction for a night and the entire morning, he allowed her to take this day along with the weekend off. When that was done, she decided today she would just laze at home with Itachi. That being done, she found a sleeveless white cotton dress and let her hair down her back. This earned a purring compliment from the cat on the bed.

Hinata came by after work, in her denim jacket, jeans and lavender tee, and threw her arms around Hanaru, in near tears when she'd been so afraid that the blonde didn't call her, and demanded from both her best friend and boyfriend the entire story, which they took on the couch then. Itachi leaped into Hinata's lap and purred against her, and she giggled as she pet him. Her eyes widened when she was told Sakura was in the hospital, but she calmed when told the pinkette would be fine and released out in a few days. At least she wouldn't be paralyzed and relieved of her dream for life. Sakura would die if she had been blamed for shattering her own goals just to help save a friend.

As a result, she wasn't going to be able to go with them Saturday night, to the Kumonryu Mountain where the ritual would take place. _The full moon would be at its highest. It has to shine through the mountain's eye to complete the reversal._

Kumonryu Mountain was named after the black koi fish, which in turn was named after the dragon of transformation. It was the original location where a human-turned-animal was returned back to original form, but not for six hundred years until now. It would be back in action.

More good luck on their side: the sky would be clear for this to work.

Grandma Tsunade and Grandpa Jiraiya? Oh, to see her poor grandmother's face. The vein sticking out of her forehead and her lips pulling back...it was nightmarish. It was also expected of her to release her explosive temper.

"That...BASTARD! HE COMES BACK AFTER ALL THIS TIME AND KIDNAPS MY GRANDDAUGHTER! Why, if I ever see him myself, I will personally..." She stopped there and cracked her knuckles _loudly,_ making both Hanaru and her brother cringe and sweat. Nobody could respond to that.

As for her husband, Jiraiya's eyes narrowed the entire time. There were no words to describe anything, and they did not seem to have the right words...until Jiraiya was the one to break it. "You guys, I've had some old friends keeping a watch on him all this time since even after I finished my time in the service."

"So you both did know him," Hanaru stated, rubbing along Itachi's spine, making him fall half-asleep. He purred the motor and stretched out in her lap.

Tsunade nodded, biting her lower lip and glaring into the tea she'd made. "It was a long time ago. We were all kids, we cared about each other - but even our history would never change everything he's done. Because he took away our son and daughter-in-law," she bit out heatedly, sharing a look with Jiraiya, "and your fiancée's parents away. He went far to protect himself. It shows how low he's steeped."

Naruto growled. "But what about the fact that he said he loved you once, Grandma? Was he lying, or telling the truth?" He didn't like hearing about this any more than she did, but they had to know.

Jiraiya didn't like hearing about this, for he reached up to rub his temples when his wife answered dejectedly. "He did...but at the end of the day, Jiraiya was the one to make me laugh, didn't see me as one of those girls he oggled for his ridiculous books," she said, turning snidely to him and elbowing him when he exclaimed that his books weren't ridiculous.

Hanaru bowed her head and nuzzled into Itachi's warm, silky side, holding her _otouto_ 's hand at the same time. Their grandmother hadn't returned the feelings her former friend had from childhood, but did it drive him towards revenge like the deaths of his parents? When she asked this question, both of them exhaled and shared a glance.

"No idea, kiddo," Jiraiya said at last, a faraway gaze settling over. "He was the first real friend I ever had, even if we didn't always get along. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a dad to all of us. I remember one time he accused me of not knowing the loss of parents. I have to say he was right about that. Maybe he wanted to bring them back - maybe not - but there is no way to tell now."

Tsunade swallowed the burning amber liquid in a gulp, expression hard now. "But since he got you before, Hana-chan," she said tightly, "the both of you as well as Sasuke are going to stay with me for the remainder of this weekend until tomorrow night." And that was when they would get Hinata, then go to the mountain to turn Itachi back into a human. The reason they would all stick together was because Orochimaru needed them the most, so to have them alone at he and Itachi's apartment would be very dangerous and render them vulnerable. With Tsunade, he might not stand a chance.

Her grandmother's amber eyes glittered mischievously as she told them the greatest plan she ever had that did not involve direct dirty work and get them caught by the police for vigilantism.

~o~

Kumonryu Mountain was beyond Konoha's forests, in a barren section not far away from overlooking Tokyo and the connecting great bridge. Sasuke heard about this when he and Itachi were kids, from their mother: it was one of the oldest places once where the persecuted would escape and hide out, as well as providing sanctuary for those on the run. Nowadays it wasn't used, and it was namely forgotten save for the few whose history was immensely tied to its past. Such as the Uzumaki clan, its in-laws and distant relations.

Sasuke was on his motorcycle as he followed the car owned by Jiraiya and Tsunade, in which the couple as well as Naruto, Hinata, Hanaru and Itachi were in. His wife was still alive and well in the hospital, for a couple more days before she'd be back to her life. He breathed a sigh of relief. He never wanted her to lose her dream just over helping a best friend. Before he left her be, she'd pulled him down with her uninjured arm - the other was in a cast - and kissed him before begging him to make damned sure his brother was human again. He gave her his "hn" and returned the kiss as his answer.

The moon was a full, glowing disc of silvery white, perhaps so many feet far away from the peak of the mountain which was jagged but otherwise shaped like the fish of its name. It was like being in a storybook, too good to be real. Sasuke was momentarily entranced.

"You know, Hanaru," Jiraiya said cheerily as he looked overhead at the picture, "you could use this as an idea for your next book."

She snorted and shrugged as her answer, putting Itachi down so he could stretch from being in her lap for the majority of the drive. She pulled her coat around her. All of them were dressed warmly as the temperature dropped, but Sasuke wasn't affected. His leather jacket was unzipped down, showing his black sweater which protected him well. Tsunade got the box of the ingredients ready and was already leading the way. Naruto took Hinata's hand and led the way after, followed by Hanaru and the old pervert himself, leaving Sasuke and his brother in kitty form. _Kitty no longer._ He smiled when wide black eyes blinked up at him as he pranced on all fours alongside.

"Come on, _aniki,_ " he said, picking the cat up and holding him close. "Let's get you turned back into yourself again." Itachi mewled and licked his lips, pawing gently at his sweater.

And they had half an hour before the moon would reach the hole in the mountain - the fish's eye - because if they weren't on time, the expiration date would be in full effect. Sasuke would never know what to do if he lost his big brother forever. He would never have the peace he wanted between them again after everything.

 **The mountain in which Itachi's transformation back to being human was indeed named after the black koi fish which was also the namesake of a dragon from the mythos in the name. It is said to bring about changes in life's circumstances.**

 **Up next is the long-awaited transformation and grand finale. :D**


	18. Happily Forever After

**FINAL CHAPTER. READ, ENJOY AND REVIEW. :D**

 **Mild warning: mentioned nudity but not shown.**

Chapter Eighteen

Happily Forever After

These grounds were rough. A soft mist gathered before their eyes. The air was humid, making the skin break out a little without getting thick with irritation.

"Wait," Tsunade panted, kneeling down and setting down the box. "I need to...catch my breath." They weren't that far away from the rocky clearing which would be the place they'd been told about, and already she was losing her breath. Sasuke was half-dismayed, and for a moment, it showed on Hanaru's face for the same reasons. They didn't have a lot of time to stop for a breath, and the moon might as well be moving faster than they thought.

Jiraiya chortled as he bent down to pick up the box for her. "Starting to lose your strength already on this important night, _hime_?" he drawled, drawing furiously boiling eyes in his direction.

"YOU'RE CALLING ME WEAK, YOU ANNOYING TOAD?!"

Sasuke suppressed a swallow. What if that was him and Sakura one day - or maybe worse, his brother and Hana-chan?

"Aw, come on!" Naruto exclaimed, holding both hands up in the air. "You really gonna try and kill each other at a time like this?!" Both Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at him, blinking twice, then agreed. He grinned at them both. "There, that's what I'm talking about! Now, what do you say, Granny? Let Hana-nee and I take control for you!" Both of them rushed over then and took the crate of glass vials and proceeded to move forward against the older woman's outraged protestations.

"Itachi, let's go," the younger Uchiha breathed as they hurried forward, at the same time lightning and thunder pierced the sky. Which was strange since the sky was clear enough - but then he looked overhead and saw a few gray clouds against the black canvas, if not enough to obscure the moon from its sacred duty.

Itachi meowed as he looked around him, stopping when they paused and gazed upon the elevated rock covered with old vines and branches from centuries of sleep and abandonment. Sasuke's keen eye caught that the hole in the mountain would be in perfect alignment with this spot.

"Okay, let's hurry," Tsunade said quickly, joining Hanaru at the crate being settled down, and wasted no time getting the ingredients out one by one. Her granddaughter had brought a sweetly painted blue dish, drawing it from her coat pocket and laying it down to start mixing what was in. Sasuke glimpsed certain herbs, then felt his eyes widen at the little vial of dark red fluid which had to be... _blood. Is it Itachi's?_ He felt his stomach churn as he tried not to think about his brother's precious life fluid being mixed with this stuff. No matter that, he knew that Itachi's DNA had to be part of this to work...

Naruto seemed to read everything off of him. "Yeah, Granny got it from Itachi during the week before. She said it was important to have something from his system."

"Thanks, dobe," he muttered. He knelt down before Itachi after placing him on the ground before him. He really needed to tell his brother something before he put him on that pedestal for the moon to radiate its magic. "Itachi, when our parents were taken from us, you protected me with your life - then Uncle Madara rescued us both." He felt his heart clench in a greater way than before. It was difficult to hold back the burning tears. "I know recently I was never the most caring little brother, and long before that...and I'm more than sorry," he choked out. "I should never have been so angry with you, nor should I have let it affect how I treated you. I guess I deserved you leaving me on my wedding day." _Because with how I shoved you away, you didn't feel it was right to take the pain out on your own brother and then out of the blue ask him to be your best man just upon finishing high school._

Itachi meowed and moved to stand on his hind legs, placing both frontal paws on his younger brother's knee. "And I wanted to give you the treatment so you'd know how I felt," Sasuke went on, scratching the kitty behind the ears, "but it never would make it right. So, I don't know what I will do if I never forgave myself if we couldn't change you back, _aniki_." He then picked up the little animal beneath his arms and held him to his chest again. He nuzzled the silken, warm fur and breathed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I love you, _nii-san._ "

To finally say those words released the chains of the heavy weight that settled over both of them for too many years. The lick of the rough tongue from his feline brother made him stifle a hiccup, as it was Itachi's way of answering in the same words.

Then Hinata spoke up, coming their way with a backpack she'd brought with her. "Oh, um, Sasuke...I have these for Itachi when he changes back," she said softly. "Hana-chan packed them." She unzipped the top to reveal an article of black clothing, making him smile to one corner of his mouth. Itachi really needed clothes, so he wasn't embarrassed when he changed back. Thinking about that made the younger Uchiha flush a little; the last thing he wanted was to see _aniki_ in his birthday suit. Even Naruto and Hinata didn't need to.

He found himself meeting Hanaru's gaze just as she was giving something to her grandmother - and it was none other than a crystal in the shape of a CAT. _Is that really supposed to happen?_ He decided the stupid question wasn't necessary since he could see it himself. He stood up then and wrapped his arms around himself, looking down at Itachi once again. His brother mewled and then pranced over to leap on top of the now-bare stoned pedestal, sniffing around in curiosity. By this time, grandmother and granddaughter were done brewing the _suiyaku_.

Hanaru took a visible deep breath before going up to Itachi and holding the small bowl before his face. He sniffed at it then before dipping his face in and taking a few licks, smacking loudly as he drank down the formula. All the while Sasuke watched on, joining Naruto and Hinata as they held onto each other. Jiraiya had gone to be beside his wife just as she was - mixing _another concoction?_ Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this, but his attention was redirected back to his brother just as vivid silvery white light formed in the stages of the moon itself.

Because the moon WAS just coming into alignment with the eye of the fish overhead, named after the dragon of life's changes. And the potion - it was _working!_

Itachi mewed in excitement as he looked about at the glittering blue-white stars that appeared out of nowhere, sparkling as they surrounded him.

Sasuke felt his hand being grasped in a sweaty palm. Hanaru was clutching him in desperate excitement. His veins thrummed to match as they shared a brief glance, knowing that no one would interrupt them now...they were so close...

...until Naruto yelled it out. "GRANNY, IT'S HIM!"

~o~

Hinata bit back a cry as she held onto Naruto as she looked at the figure that appeared in a flash atop the jagged hill overlooking them. _Oh, you HAD to show up at a time like this!_ But it was a good thing Grandma had been prepared when she made the spare potion, and it was better than dirty killing the enemy.

Hanaru bared her teeth and cursed at the sight of the half-man, half-snake demon that slithered down from his somewhat standing position. "You bastard, what do you want now?" That was the best she could ask now, because she had no legally acquired gun for herself, and neither did her brother, Hinata or Sasuke. And Itachi was almost there...

But now the snake's attention was directed to _that._

"Well, what have we here? Tsunade, I'm sure you have an explanation for this, hmm?"

"Orochimaru," she spat, side by side with Jiraiya, whose eyes became slits to match the reptile this man was becoming. _Yeah, I see he's becoming permanently more reptile than man. Based on what Sasuke said, every few years, he needs a new body to devour like a snake swallows its prey whole. With all these years, he's been becoming more like this every day. And with yesterday, it's becoming permanent. I think he's here to settle the score, but he doesn't even know the entire story..._

 _And he's a so-called genius. Maybe his real old age has gotten to him._

Tsunade continue to tirade her rage at her and her husband's former friend as the moon continued to slowly reach full bloom above. "Why should I answer you, after what you pulled off with the man who was like a father to us all - and those others whose lives you ruined? And now you try to take our granddaughter!" She held Jiraiya's hand in hers, painfully enough to make him flinch.

Orochimaru snickered as he swirled around them in a flash and stood before them then, his back facing Hanaru and the others. Right now, this didn't involve them all. The moon was a third or quarter away from reaching centerpoint; Itachi was watching and mewling as he watched. "Tsunade-hime, really, it was necessary. I apologize for nearly causing my oldest friends such pain..." He paused then and there when he turned back to Itachi. "Brings me back to my question: what sorcery am I witnessing?"

When he turned his eyes back to Hanaru, Sasuke and their friends, all of them glared at him savagely, daring him to try and get past them all. He had come to ruin the night that was the cat's last hope - and all of theirs - and what was he going to do now...?

It was then and there that his yellow serpentine eyes widened as if figuring it out all on his own.

"Oh, I see...a transformation from animal to _human_?"

 _Oh, hell no..._

Hanaru gripped Sasuke's hand tighter and urged him to step up with her to save his brother with her. _Goddamn, Grandma, throw the potion on him already. Then recite the incantation..._

Orochimaru's explosive laugh of excitement stirred a startling jump from them all. "Oh, how delightful and wonderful! MY chance to advance myself once and for all! Tsunade, there is no time for further talk as I see this is a once in a lifetime..." Golden irises adverted down to the small cup in her hand which matched the dish that had held Itachi's portion. "...is that necessary rather than simply sitting beneath the moonlight?"

"Sister," Naruto hissed to her, "I hate all this talk. If this is part of Granny's plan, then we have to get him into the animal he is." _Obviously, because he's more snake than human and always had been,_ she agreed silently, nodding to let him know she heard him well.

Sasuke bared his teeth. "If he so much as touches my brother, he'll pay."

"But wait," Hinata whispered, "I think we have to just stick to what Tsunade-baa says, and just let her take care of this. And Itachi - he's going to make it." Her eyes flashed like the stream above their heads.

"You're right, Orochimaru," they heard Tsunade say, holding out the cup. "If it's what you wanted all this time - if all those lives you took were worth it - then try this. It's a family secret of mine, and you'll become something better than you imagined. But we need just one thing of you real quick before time runs out, and it's a sample of your own blood..."

She was cut off when, in a flash, the snake-man swiped the cup from her grandmother's hands, and with his free one, his sharpened nails - sharp as his newly elongated teeth - were brought down to his side, and the hardened flesh split open, letting putrid-looking maroon liquid seep out, drizzling down and making Hanaru's stomach lurch as well as the others. The cup was brought down and gathered enough for the monster to waste no time bringing it to his lips without bothering to mix it to completion. He swallowed in a gulp that the hard glares of Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't falter. Without one more word to them, he slithered over to the rock where the cat still was, but Itachi shrank to one end without escaping the circle.

Sasuke couldn't take anymore of this and took a few steps forward, raising his voice that reached even the heavens. "You bastard, if you touch that animal -" He refused to even slip and mention that the cat was really his brother to their enemy who snorted with laughter as he, too, was surrounded by the same silvery blue stars that covered Itachi who hissed at the man who abducted his fiancée and had his parents killed.

"What use do I have of an animal at the moment when I become so much more?"

By this time, the moon's center reached alignment and flared a white brighter than the sun. Smoke then arose and puffed in a rainbow of color, accompanied by small bolts of blue lightning.

Hanaru's blood ran cold as she shifted closer to her brother-in-law. He hissed through his teeth as he continued to ferociously glare at the sight. Hinata gasped in horror, inching into Naruto who growled like a beast. If that bastard became full life-size snake, then who knew what he'd done to Itachi...

"Oh, God, Itachi..." was all she could get out. Her own heartbeat increased and thudded so loudly it could be heard by the others.

 _Kami, baby...I'm so sorry..._

The smoke was slowly dissipating, revealing the outline of a _human_ shape - her breath hitched as her heart leaped with her hopes on the rise - but that was not all. Appearing and slithering down the rock was something very small, but otherwise long, measuring to be about eight or nine inches, and white as snow. _A snake...a_ white _snake._ Hanaru heard herself and the others gasp at the sight.

Orochimaru had turned into a little white snake!

Yellow eyes blinked up at them all, looking in every direction. You'd think the little creature would attack in his new form, but they were all more than tons of sizes bigger to crush it, and that's just what she was thinking about...but she was beaten to it.

A bare foot stepped out from the smoky haze, landing on the little serpent, holding it in place. The thing hissed savagely out, but it did not get to bite at the ankle it targeted, for it was crushed in half, spurting out dark blood in every direction. It died within moments, marking the end of Orochimaru. He had spent years fighting death, prolonging his life and wasting others' in the process, causing grief to hundreds - her own included, along with her brother, her fiancée's and her brother-in-law's - and now look what he got which was far more painful than serving life in prison. He'd been tricked into becoming something he thought he wanted.

Once again, Grandma Tsunade's genius paid off even if it was someone she once considered an old friend. _An old friend who'd loved her, but she chose the other man in their lives._

Her attention traveled from the foot that crushed the snake to the ankle it was attached to, towards a nicely muscled calf, up to a thigh covering the groin - and finally a familiar carved chest that made her cheeks flush furiously, ending with a face that earned the name from everyone's lips, her own included.

"ITACHI!"

 _He's back!_ Without further a due, Hanaru ran over and threw her arms around his shoulders, broad and muscled, and wept with joy. She knew it, she always KNEW it! "Oh, Itachi!" she cried, sobbing into his bared shoulder. His strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. He remained in his sitting position on the pedestal, where the moonlight was just slipping from its position in the fish's eye, continuing its routine of the night and relieved it had done its duty - by turning one back into a human being as a reward and the other into its animal spirit as a form of punishment.

Tsunade's exclamation was muffled by both hands slapped onto her mouth. Jiraiya exploded with guffaws of laughter at both his granddaughter and her husband-to-be reunited as well as his friend-turned-enemy crushed by his eventual grandson-in-law's own foot.

There were no words to describe the joy Hanaru felt when she found herself back in the arms of the man she loved. It was silly and clichéd like the last book she wrote, or the ones she grew up reading, but it was true. Nothing else mattered but Itachi - until he broke it with the chuckle that made her flush tomato red.

"Hana-chan, as pleased I am to be back, there is a minor issue."

"Which is?" she asked, looking up at him only to allow her eyes to travel down when he answered.

"I'm naked."

 _Oh, God...if it were just us both, he'd take me home here and now._ She quickly shrugged off her heavy black coat and draped it around his bare form, showing him her cotton white dress which she never took off after yesterday, so he could see her with his own eyes here and now, never mind the dropping temperature tonight.

She could just imagine the mad blushes of the faces of her brother, best friend and Sasuke right now. And speaking of which, Hinata was just coming up with the clothes she'd carried, at the same time Sasuke came up - and this was the first time she'd witnessed her normally brooding future brother-in-law threatening to crack when he saw his brother back to being himself.

" _Aniki,_ you're back."

With a smile, Itachi reached and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "That I am, _otouto._ " He stood then, Hanaru before him and holding up her coat so he could slip on the garments offered to him by a blushing Hinata who then returned to a cheeky Naruto's side.

"Yeah, no one will ever believe if we told them!" he said, making Hanaru roll her eyes and Tsunade narrow hers.

"Brat, you'd have better not go opening your mouth to anyone."

He held up both his hands in surrender. "Hey, Grandma, don't worry!" he protested, laughing. "Who said I would?!"

All were laughing, but it was Hanaru who was feeling the best of it. She turned her attention back to Itachi who was completely dressed now in the long-sleeved black shirt and jeans, his hair loose about for the time being, and he was the only one to make her cry with joy the way he did. She let him take her into his embrace, cried harder when he kissed her forehead. His brother joined the poignant moment as it was also the best reconciliation ever between them.

~o~

He awoke Sunday morning in _her_ arms, enthralled to be back being human. He faced her, and in doing so, he gazed past her and at the sun shining on them both. He didn't want to get out of bed; he wanted to spend all day with her if he had to. It was his first day being human again, and that was all he wished for.

Itachi's experiences as a cat for two whole weeks had been in three words: frightening, enlightening, and refreshing.

When he read that text aloud, unknowing of what would happen to him, he'd been petrified - but then to find himself in the small form of none other than a _cat_ , his limits had been pushed that he desperately needed the woman he was going to marry to tell him what had happened to him. He'd been turned into a cat; she'd kept something as vital as this from him all this time, and for the moment, he'd been furious, because why didn't she trust him in the beginning with this?

However, as she explained with her brother's help their family secret - to him, Hinata, and Sasuke and Sakura - which instilled dread within Itachi as he fought hard to not panic and to believe in them both as well as their grandmother who could help them. The answer was yes, but they'd had until the next full moon which was in two weeks. Until then, Itachi was a little animal who couldn't do anything like he used to, and that also meant going into work. It would have sparked so many questions from Uncle Izuna had Sasuke not used his brains to disguise his voice and feign a bug which lasted until Madara would return.

 _In perfect timing._

Itachi did find it enlightening, as he'd said. His fiancée gave him so much attention, so many rubbings and pettings even though he never asked for it, and her brother the same. And the times when it was just the two of them, he would catch her weeping, and he'd go to her and lick her face or nuzzle her because he loathed seeing her suffering with guilt for letting this happen to him. Her grandmother's tirade had made it worse. _The fault is all mine; I allowed my curiosity to get the best of me. Curiosity killed the cat._

He'd closed his eyes and wished he could actually talk to her, as he was restricted from human speech in his cat form. The noises he'd uttered were...cute, if thinking that way about himself made him flush.

Good thing that he got to sleep a lot, but sometimes he hated it even though it might be in a cat's nature to sleep so much. He happened to enjoy being in Hanaru's embrace, even under the covers of the bed they shared at night, snuggling close to her and curling into a ball against her side.

But in midst of the proximity he shared with Hanaru and her brother while their grandparents were away, there was also his troublesome _otouto._ More concerned with how the world would react to Itachi's loss rather than getting him back to being human. The elder Uchiha wanted nothing more than to be back...before becoming that monster he was said to become if they passed the full moon, then all hell would have broken loose. If there was one thing he would not live with, it was becoming a cat demon. To lose his humanity...

Itachi shut himself from that thought and instead focused on believing in Tsunade.

Never mind that the woman first threatened his manhood if he did not treat her granddaughter right; he knew she wouldn't leave him like his out of personal revenge, for he did nothing wrong.

Back to Sasuke...his sister-in-law really put him in his place, and if Itachi had been human when his younger sibling got drunk at Akimichi's BBQ and Grill, he would have overstepped his boundaries when he would call Sasuke an even bigger fool than he'd always been. Itachi always knew Sakura Haruno would put _otouto_ in his place if he got out of line. He just knew she would be his rock as Naruto was when he failed as a brother.

Itachi knew he failed to be there for his brother because Orochimaru ruined their lives as he had Hanaru and Naruto's.

But now they had their chance to rebuild now that the snake was out of the question. He'd kidnapped him and Hanaru, and if he hadn't gotten away like she'd asked him to, they never would have made it to where they were now. He was proud that his brother and their friends stormed Orochimaru's hiding place and took on the goons - and Itachi enjoyed knocking the bastard out to help his brother when Sasuke had been deprived of his weapon.

Which was also why he had no regrets crushing the little snake he'd been turned into because of his greed and wicked ways, when he found himself human again. Naked, unharmed, but relieved to be back to himself. While he enjoyed those times he had been rubbed and petted, cradled in arms and so on, Itachi wanted his life back.

To hold his brother in an embrace made him weep with Sasuke - especially with those words he'd spoken to his _aniki_ which he never thought he would hear: _"Itachi, when our parents were taken from us, you protected me with your life - then Uncle Madara rescued us both. I know recently I was never the most caring little brother, and long before that...and I'm more than sorry. I should never have been so angry with you, nor should I have let it affect how I treated you. I guess I deserved you leaving me on my wedding day And I wanted to give you the treatment so you'd know how I felt, but it never would make it right. So, I don't know what I will do if I never forgave myself if we couldn't change you back,_ aniki _. I'm sorry, Itachi...I love you,_ nii-san _."_

Then when it was all over and the elder Uchiha brother held the younger back, he was unable to resist himself. "I love you, too, _otouto_ ," he'd managed, in front of his fiancée, her family and Hyuuga-chan. Sakura ought to have been there if not for the gunshot to her arm.

When he and Hanaru returned to their apartment, he wanted nothing more than to clean himself up and go to bed, which had been done. She did not leave his side the entire time, but she didn't leech either. She didn't cry again, but they also didn't say much. That night they didn't have a major discussion for the first time - to actually _speak_ to her - in two weeks, but it didn't matter. Itachi had plenty of time to endure her secret out in the open between them.

However, there had also been enough time for him to continue planning on what he should have told his uncle when he returned all along.

Madara had been...chipper when he returned from abroad. Not only that, Izuna noticed how both his nephews seemed to be like they used to be when Itachi returned on Monday, smiling as if he'd never been "sick" from the flu. When he went up to Itachi personally as the day was beginning and their first few customers were entering, he said in a hushed but sly voice, "Is it my imagination...or did your sickness manage to patch it up between my boys?"

"Ah, Uncle...you couldn't have been more right." The older Uchiha's eyes lit up then and there, and he really wanted to know more, but Itachi needed more time to think of how - with his brother's help - and instead settled on a "later".

On Thursday that week, he had his chance with Madara when his uncle wanted to speak with him personally regarding his retirement within a few more months, one right after his and Hanaru's wedding. _My chance._

And when he did voice it to the elder, Madara's expression remained passive for a moment before becoming full-blown surprise.

"Come again, nephew?"

"I said, Uncle," he answered calmly, sitting across from the other in the man's office, "I intend to refuse the position and have Sasuke take over."

If it had been Fugaku he was speaking to, his father would undoubtedly demand to know if his heir had lost his mind. He would have said that Itachi had no say in this, but Madara was not Fugaku. Momentarily, there was a flicker of the question across the man's eyes - before it was gone, and a small smile that didn't reach his eyes appeared. "Itachi, are you sure you want to do this? Your father would have turned in his grave at your decision. True, Sasuke measures to you, but Fugaku would disagree..." Itachi did not want to hear about this and calmly interrupted his uncle.

"I am sure of this, Madara. I'm very much confident in my brother. This is the least I can do for all those years."

When he beheld the light in Sasuke's eyes upon informing him of the greatest gift he'd given to his brother, the big brother he was swelled when he envisioned the younger getting what he always wanted - because this was what Itachi was doing in return for Sasuke being his best man for the wedding, to make up for never being there for his _otouto._

In two and a half months, the wedding did finally arrive.

 _At the red blossom lake. My parents' getaway, the old play spot of me and my brother - and the place I took my bride for our first date._

White lanterns painted with red and black blossoms hung from many branches overhead the spot, where he and Hanaru would be married under the shade - and by none other than his uncle Madara Uchiha. Beyond was the lake of red lotuses, the backdrop proving more than trivial traditional decorations. Taking a breath, Itachi nodded as he took his place to his uncle's left, waiting for the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

Present to witness were every esteemed friend of his bride-to-be and her brother as well as Sasuke and Sakura - who was also among one of the bridesmaids in soft, lightly ruffled dresses of red that touched the ground. Hinata Hyuuga and Ino Yamanaka were also to follow, each carrying a bouquet of red roses and calla lilies, and each escorted by each man in Itachi's party - Sasuke and his wife, Naruto and his girlfriend, and Ino by Izuna. Kakashi and Iruka were there, along with Asuma and his family, others of the families who knew each other, and finally with Tsunade and Shizune. The guest list wasn't enormous to meet old grand standards, but it was intimate enough to include everyone.

But it was his bride who caught his breath as she walked towards him, being walked by none other than Jiraiya.

Her ivory dress had a flowing skirt like a calla lily, embellished with lacy roses. The straps were thin, baring her arms, and the neck was a round scoop. Her hair was in shimmering braids behind her head, bunned and held together by little gold-plated roses. In her ears were radiant little crystals. She took his breath away...

Itachi found himself sharing a glance with his brother who gave him a crooked grin as a silent "good luck", and Naruto's ever bright, toothy grin flashed along with his signature thumbs up. _All the support we need._

In the past three months, besides finishing the last preparations for this happy day, Orochimaru had never been found, and it would be a matter of time before the case would be closed if it were to come to the conclusion the snake was dead somewhere - despite no traces to be found. Not that it mattered anymore; justice had been served if not in the sense it should have been the first time around. The bastard who ruined his life, his wife's and their brothers and many others before them...he might as well be serving his sentence with the Shinigami for eternity in flames. He chuckled at the irony.

 _Let the battle be won, hn?_

The service blended both the way his family had done long before he and Sasuke were born, for Madara wasted no time proudly stating: "This man I have raised alongside my dearest brother has discovered the woman he will spend the rest of his life with, as his younger brother before him has done so, and hope that it will continue to remain as it is now. Today is not the beginning of what will be...but rather, what already is. Nephew, do you take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold as long as you shall live?"

" _Hai,_ " he answered proudly, making his uncle smile wider as well as the witnesses.

"And my new niece, do you take this man to be your husband, to have and to hold as long as you shall live?"

Her eyes shone. " _Hai,_ I sure as hell do _,_ " she stated, making it as serious as it could be as well as drawing a chuckle from the man and the others stifling their laughter. With that said and done, both of them exchanged their simple silver wedding bands with the promise of " _Kono ringu de, watashi wa kekkonshimashita._ "

 _With this ring, I thee wed._

Said and done, Itachi and Hanaru Uchiha were man and wife. Watched by loving little brothers and best friends, supportive family and colleagues, they sealed their union with a kiss. This was what his new wife had always dreamed of, and it exceeded any that Itachi would ever dare to envision. His only wish was that his parents and Hanaru's were here, but for all they knew, they were looking down from the heavens at this very moment.


End file.
